Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (left) with Russian President Vladimir Putin (right)
Viktor Orbán has always been pro-Russia. Now, there are signs that the Kremlin is working to secure his re-election and turning the Hungarian elections into a referendum on whether voters prefer greater proximity to the European Union or Russia.
The small black plaque on the facade of number 99 on the imposing Boulevard Andrássy, in Budapest, marks an episode that occurred in November 1956, when Soviet troops invaded Hungary and brutally crushed the brief revolt against the Communist Party. Some Soviet soldiers refused to participate in the massacre against Hungarian freedom fighters and were shot.
The executions took place in the palace diagonally opposite the sign, inside what was then the Soviet Embassy and is now the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Hungary. Some Kremlin officials still consider the 1956 Hungarian Revolution a “fascist uprising.” Russia, which in many ways sees itself as a successor to the Soviet Union, never apologized for what happened in 1956.
Now, almost 70 years later, the Russian embassy in Budapest would be serving as a Kremlin-run part-time command center for Hungary’s election campaign. In collaboration with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, his government and his Fidesz party, the Kremlin will be organize smear campaigns against the opposition candidate, Peter Magyar. This information was suggested by several investigative journalists, as well as leaks from a session of the Hungarian parliament.
Russia’s “political technologists”
It has been clear for months that the April 12 parliamentary election will determine whether Hungary’s future will lean east or west. But recent events have intensified these discussions: Vladimir Putin’s statements about Hungary, as well as Russia’s secret influence, show that the Hungarian election will ultimately be a geopolitical issue. At stake is Hungary’s loyalty to the European Union or Russia.
Last week, Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi of news site Vsquare cited sources from European intelligence agencies in reporting that a team of three people, the so-called “political technologists“, had traveled to Hungary to help Orbán secure yet another electoral victory. In Russia, the term “political technologists” refers to the advisers behind Putin’s series of electoral victories.
Panyi told DW that he obtained information about Russian interference before the Hungarian election from three different European intelligence sources. Russian agents are said to be working under the supervision by Sergey Kiriyenkodeputy head of the presidential administration. Their task would be to organize a social media campaign against Magyar and his party, Tisza.
“The Orbán government’s narrative on social media has been weak and unsuccessful so far,” Panyi said. “The Russians want to help Orbán take the campaign to a new level with their troll armymanipulation of the algorithm and alarmist content”.
“The Orbán government’s narrative on social media has been weak and unsuccessful so far,” Panyi said. “The Russians want to help Orbán take the campaign to a new level with their troll armyalgorithm manipulation and fear-mongering content.”
Warnings from EU intelligence agencies
Shortly after the publication of Panyi’s report, the media reported a confidential meeting of the National Security Committee in the Hungarian parliament, where warnings from intelligence agencies about the presence of Russian political strategists in Budapest were discussed. The government said it could not confirm its presence in the country.
This week, the Financial Times reported that the Kremlin hired the Agency for Social Design (ASP), a IT and disinformation company based in Moscow, to support Orbán in his election campaign. The agency is known in Russia for its disinformation campaigns and is subject to sanctions from the EU, the US and other governments.
The embassy press office and Russian Ambassador Yevgeny Stanislavov personally attacked Magyaraccusing him of spreading falsehoods.
“We Hungarians are the heirs of the freedom fighters of 1956,” Magyar wrote in a letter to the Russian ambassador. “No one can threaten or blackmail us.” Magyar stated that the majority of Hungarians would vote in favor of the country’s future within the European Union. He asked Orbán to convene the National Security Council and “inform the people of Hungary about what is happening.”
Putin’s trusted partners
Orbán’s government maintains closer ties with Russia than almost any other in Europe. However, the Prime Minister denies that the Kremlin is trying to influence the Hungarian election campaign. Orbán and Putin have met almost every year since he became prime minister in 2010. Hungary is a heavy consumer of Russian energy, buying more gas from the country now than before the Kremlin launched its war against Ukraine in 2022, even as the EU and US impose sanctions.
In 2025, Putin praised Orbán as a “leader who represents national interests” and said Europe would be “reborn” under the leadership of politicians like the prime minister. In early March, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto traveled to Moscow for a meeting with Putin.
As a gesture of friendship, Putin handed over two Ukrainian prisoners of war of Hungarian descent who had previously expressed pro-Russian sentiments in Kremlin propaganda videos shown on Hungarian state media. Last week, Putin threatened to cut off energy supplies to the European Union, but noted that Russia supplies energy to trusted partners such as Hungary and Slovakia.
Investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi sees this as a veiled threat and yet another way for Putin to help Orbán in the election campaign. “It is signaling to Hungarians that gas stations will run out of fuel and the economy will collapse if they don’t vote for their comrade“, disse Panyi.
