Hungarian Conservative

In the heart of the city of Sochi there is a photography exhibition dedicated to the ‘Heroes of Operation Z’—propaganda is inescapable for average Russians.

Citing security reasons, Gulyás did not disclose information about when or who will be making an official state visit to Ukraine but said he was aware of a visit being planned.

It is incorrect to believe that protests took place only in the final years of the USSR. Demonstrations and rebellions were an integral part of Soviet history from the very birth of the Empire.

The Great Patriotic War, the Russian Empire and Ukraine are the three recurring themes that constitute the pillars of the Russian President’s historical narrative.

All empires and major powers have a strong sense of their own exceptionality, so criticizing Russia in that regard is not reasonable.

After Peter the Great, Alexander II is known to be the greatest reformer of the Russian Empire. What his rule teaches us is that historic development does not go in a straight line—usually, when a country takes two steps forward, it also takes a step back.

Alexander III of Russia is known to be Putin’s favourite tsar. During his reign, he advocated for Russification, for Russia’s interests in global affairs and for the ‘inviolability of autocracy’.

Unfortunately, relentless propaganda works, and we are wrong to assume or represent it otherwise.

Sanctions that target a whole country instead of specific individuals always hurt the innocent, ordinary people the most. Be these people European citizens who cannot afford to pay their electricity bills, or Central Asians who now live in extreme poverty, generic sanctions punish those the most who are the least responsible.

The Hungarian government has condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine in no uncertain terms but has also been a consistent advocate of an immediate ceasefire and peace talks, offering several times to be a mediator in the conflict.

Ultimately, the fact that Belgium still allows Russian diamond imports means that they are more invested in supplying those living a life of luxury with rare precious stones than in letting people heat their homes in the winter.

‘Everyone thinks that the US is benefitting from the war. I simply would not say that. The US has higher budget expenditures, the US is sending munitions to Ukraine, which they are going to have to replenish. That’s going to be costly, this is all going to be costly.’

War is as much about controlling information as controlling the battlefield. We may never learn who the culprit is behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, but it is clear who benefits from it the most—and who does not.

The war in Ukraine has renewed the controversy over Communist era statues in Poland. The country is now being purged of the remaining Soviet monuments.

The bleeding out in the Ukraine war may be the beginning of the decline of Moscow’s global influence. With the EU also weakening economically due to the energy crisis, the current multipolar world order is expected to change, leaving the US and China as the leaders of a bipolar world.

‘Peace will not come about without dialogue,’ Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister of Hungary said after his meeting with Sergei Lavrov.

The prolongation of the war in Ukraine and the challenges to Russia’s military strength may lead to more armed conflicts all over the post-Soviet sphere, as countries in the region try to capitalise on Russia’s weakness.

Although Putin was the first world leader Xi Jinping met with outside China since the outbreak of the pandemic, Beijing is probably more interested in a West divided over Ukraine than in Russia itself.

Russia is turning to Iran and North Korea due to Western sanctions preventing its access to cutting-edge technology. Rapprochement between these countries, however, does certainly not serve the interest of the West.

When we think of the scale of suffering the war in Ukraine has been causing worldwide, it is hard to believe that Kyiv all but finalised a peace agreement with Moscow as early as April, less than two months into the war, only to be pressured by the West to drop it. Recent revelations strongly suggest that this might be the case.

The mural of hugging Russian and Ukrainian soldiers was removed upon the uproar of the Ukrainian community. Given rising dissent in the Russian army, however, there is a case to be made that the mural was appropriate.

Moscow sees the UK’s new prime minister as hostile and incompetent as a result of her Russia-related gaffes and warmongering rhetoric.

On 30 August, Navalny was sent to solitary confinement for the third time in two weeks in the penal colony where he is serving a nine-year term.

Russia has introduced new compulsory ’patriotic rituals’ that all school children are required to perform in schools. The new patriotic lessons include discussions of the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine and the ‘NATO threat’.

A large Prague demonstration this past Saturday sent a clear message to policymakers that the Czech people are fed up with the mistaken Russian sanctions and their devastating impact on the cost of living. Research indicates that citizens in other capitals across Europe might follow suit soon.

After operating in Russia for 30 years, McDonald’s restaurants were sold to a Russian businessman, and now the franchise is in the process of being renamed and reopened. Our article provides rare insights into the American fast-food chain’s great Russian rebranding.

Months after his company criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lukoil’s chairman died under mysterious circumstances on Thursday.

Eurostat data contradicts a French media outlet’s claim that Hungary is becoming more dependent on Russian energy.

‘The problem is the Western European argument attached to these sanctions, namely: the greater the pressure exerted by the sanctions, the quicker peace will come. This mindset was wrong from the start because sanctions–as we saw earlier in the case of Iran– can only have an impact in the long run.’

The economic sanctions against Russia seem to have hurt Europe more than the country stricken by them. Russian economy is not weakening as rapidly as those of some EU countries.