Russia continues to exert all possible efforts to strengthen the pro-Russian mood in Europe. In struggle for the minds of the EU countries citizens, the rate is placing often on the former USSR satellite countries. Especially it concerns the states with a weak economy, which depends on the prices for energy resources from the Russian Federation. In particular, under the influence of Kremlin agents in different directions are the states in the Balkans and in Eastern Europe. There goals and motivation of Putin’s propagandists are obvious:
– to achieve the cancellation of economic sanctions by all means;
– to convince the largest possible number of the population is then Russia is a friend;
– to reassure that sense and benefit from confrontation with Russia, especially in the interests and supporting of Ukraine is much less than from a mutually beneficial economic and political “friendship”.
To take a foothold with the influenced by Russian propaganda population of European countries, the RF uses not only the power of an ideological machine, which is generously finances, but also indirect “bribery” by implementing various “infrastructure projects”. As usual for the Russian side they do not have commercial gain, only a propaganda tasks.
“Jobbik” and Russia – friendship forever?
A vivid example of the implementation of such a concept is Hungary. Russia provides direct financial support to the extreme ultra-right in this country – the party “Jobbik.” Representatives of this political power work out “friendship” with the sponsor with all its might. They declare that the Crimea is a native Russian from all the stands. They also support separatist sentiments in Ukrainian Transcarpathia in every possible way. Their new trend is to block Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration by vetoing the holding of the Ukraine-NATO summit.
Note that representatives of the Hungarian ultra-right were in the vanguard of the annexation of the Crimea. They were present as observers in the so-called “referendum” in the spring of 2014.
Billions of dollars infusions from the Russian budget into friendship with Hungarian neo-Nazis carry tactical and short-term benefits. So, “Jobbik” cultivates the idea of “dismantling” of the European Union. It also is a part of Putin’s “superpower” geopolitical interests, which Europe has already figured out.
The Russian Federation creates a “necessary” information noise, stirs up pro-Russian sentiments among the radicalized by propaganda part of Hungarian society. Its narrative is the following: “it’s time to cancel sanctions against Russia imposed for Russia’s actions in Ukraine.” The effect of this event is reduced to zero during short-term visits to the country or a ten-minute “field” meeting “on the margins” of the powerful players with the “jobbiks”, which are temporarily in power.
The language order of the Kremlin – the honey is sweet, but the bee stings…
Just the shadow of the US State Department airplanes over the territory of a small, but energy-dependent from the Kremlin, at the same time European-integrated country, deprived Hungarian politicians of their opposition to the Ukrainian law. Realizing the inevitability in the end to take back all their claims to Ukraine, the leadership of Hungary threatened our country with a heavenly punishment and looked for ways to “solve the problem.”
According to the opinion of political scholar, Andrei Miselyuk, Hungary conducted operations in its various sectors from the very beginning of the “educational front”. The dialogue with Kiev was only one of them. Attempts to act were enough hard and de-constructively in Budapest. So, the Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siyarto appealed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights with a request to conduct an investigation about the Ukrainian law on education. There was also the initiative of Siyarto, rejected by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Vitold Vashchikovsky, to address with their mutual letter to the Ukrainian authorities about the Ukrainian language law. The threat to initiate a revision of the agreement on the EU-Ukraine association because of this law was the most resonant “constructive” from the Hungarians.
Apparently, in the feasibility of these “scare stories” did not believe not only in Brussels and Kiev, but also in Budapest. If Hungary is 100% sure of its ability to achieve that declared, it would not seek parallel ways to reach a compromise with Ukraine.
“Jobbik” wholesale and retail
In addition of using ideological levers (that, no doubt, gorgeously sponsoring by the Russian Federation), economic bribery is also used in the propaganda fight. Everything is simple here, just enough to promise or provide obvious benefits in exchange for a “loyal” ideological course. In the case of Hungary, one of the key cards is the energy.
It is nothing new, the issues of energy supplies and prices for it – this is the age-old Russian leverage.
However, exactly in Hungary the Russian Federation is implementing a large-scale project, in which there is not a single gram of commercial profit for the investor himself. Back in the summer of 2017, it became knew that Russia would fully finance the construction of new units of the “Paksh” nuclear power plant in Hungary. The cost of the issue is 12 billion dollars (of which Russia promised 10 – non-repayable “loan”).
The start of construction works is planning for early 2018. After the dissemination of information on the construction of the two power units of the “Paksh”, Russian media has been sharing the thesis that the Hungarian population is actively supporting the initiation of “Russian brothers”.
How are they doing there, Russian state employees?
The “Russian brothers” themselves at 99.9999999999%, except as war criminals and members of the “Ozero” cooperative, will tighten their belts. At the same time, they will rejoice for the Hungarian people and applaud politicians-“jobbiks”, which are lazily working out an order for a picture of the Kremlin’s means of propaganda.
The budget of the Russian Federation for the next year is planning again in such a way that, social expenditures will decrease by 350 billion rubles or 6 billion dollars in comparison with the previous one. It means exactly half the amount of the bribe given to only one European country for doubtful loyalty.
In conclusion, I would like to recall that the anti-Ukrainian hysteria in Europe is being dispelling not only by the pro-Russian “jobbiks”, fed on the oil rubles, but also by the pro-Russian leaders of some states. Naturally, not for free. Moreover, as practice shows, for the Russian taxpayers’ money, wasted…
IR
