The article analyzes the process of institutionalization of the Olympic Movement in the Republic of Moldova, as well as the formation of the normative base of great achievement sport and its role as an instrument of foreign policy and a factor of soft power of the Moldovan State. In this regard, the author examines the continuity in the development of sports, in accordance with the two historical and political periods of the Moldovan statehood - "Soviet" and "Post-Soviet", through a comparative analysis of specific sports achievements. In this context, the author examines the main reasons for the slowdown in the development of the Olympic movement, including through the prism of content analysis the leaders of this structure, as well as the admission of systemic errors associated with insufficient funding of Moldovan sports, the lack of a legal framework for sponsoring performance sports, and the loss of the system for training highly qualified coaches.