Summer series | Hungary’s hotline to the Kremlin
Follow the Money | 03 sep 2026 | 00:22:16
Viktor Orbán has drawn Hungary increasingly close to Russia. But what has been happening behind closed doors between the Hungarian government and Moscow?
Investigative network VSquare obtained recordings and transcripts of calls between Hungary’s foreign minister and senior Russian officials, offering a rare glimpse into Hungary-Russia relations and the conversations taking place away from public view.
In the final episode of Follow the Money’s summer podcast series, Emma du Chatinier and Lise Witteman speak with VSquare co-founder and investigative journalist Anna Gielewska. She explains how journalists across Central Europe began investigating the spread of Orbán’s political model and why Russian influence kept appearing in their reporting.
It’s a story that sounds like a “spy thriller”, but actually played out across Central Europe.
Investigative network VSquare obtained recordings and transcripts of calls between Hungary’s foreign minister and senior Russian officials, offering a rare glimpse into Hungary-Russia relations and the conversations taking place away from public view.
In the final episode of Follow the Money’s summer podcast series, Emma du Chatinier and Lise Witteman speak with VSquare co-founder and investigative journalist Anna Gielewska. She explains how journalists across Central Europe began investigating the spread of Orbán’s political model and why Russian influence kept appearing in their reporting.
It’s a story that sounds like a “spy thriller”, but actually played out across Central Europe.