I Spy

Welcome to Budapest, Russia’s gateway to Balkans

The Russian man was waiting a long time for someone he was supposed to meet in a park not far from Budapest. Neither his appearance nor behavior were out of place. As he walked among the trees, everything looked ordinary. Some passers-by were enjoying the scenery while a couple kissing nearby were enjoying each other. The temperature seemed just right. It was a great time to get out of town.

Baltic spy cases

People who regularly cross the Russian border are more vulnerable to the risk of recruitment. As opposed to officials who work with state secrets and have been warned about the methods of foreign intelligence services, the average person is less informed. A friendly question by Russian border guards, such as whether a bribe should be given to anyone on the Latvian side and to whom, may seem innocent but allows the other side to mark potential recruits.

Russia and Hungary seemed to clash over the Skripal poisoning. In the background, it was a different story

The Hungarian government has developed close ties with Vladimir Putin’s Russia in recent years, hence Budapest’s response to the “Skripal case” may have seemed surprisingly tough. In spring of 2018, Viktor Orbán’s government decided to expel a Russian diplomat in a show of solidarity with the United Kingdom after the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy now living in the UK.

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