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Two influential Hungarian businessmen boarded a plane bound for Moscow weeks before Hungary\u2019s April 2010 parliamentary election. Both men belonged to the inner circle of Viktor Orb\u00e1n, head of the Fidesz party, which was predicted to win comfortably at the polls. One of them was Lajos Simicska, a longtime friend of Orb\u00e1n and his ally in making Fidesz the dominant political force in Hungary. The other person was Zsolt Nyerges, one of Simicska\u2019s associates and an old friend of the Orb\u00e1n family.<\/p>\n
Upon their arrival in Moscow, the two businessmen headed to Lubyanka Square, one of the most notorious locations in the Russian capital. The large yellowish building towering over the square used to be the headquarters of the KGB, the feared Soviet secret police. Now it is the home of its successor, the FSB. Simicska and Nyerges had a meeting with a senior official of this organization.<\/p>\n
The visit followed an important meeting that had taken place a few months earlier. In November 2009, Orb\u00e1n, already a favorite of the upcoming elections, met Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg. The purpose of that meeting was for the two politicians, who had never met before, to get to know each other. The goal of Simicska and Nyerges\u2019 trip was to establish new business relations between the leaderships of the two countries.<\/p>\n
Years later, Orb\u00e1n and Simicska would turn against each other, but around the time of their respective visits, they seemed to be inseparable allies. While Orb\u00e1n was fighting on the frontline of Hungarian politics, Simicska was working behind the scenes to provide solid financial support for Fidesz. They discussed the most important political and financial decisions, including the ones concerning Hungary\u2019s relationship with Russia.<\/p>\n
Simicska and Nyerges\u2019 trip has never been reported in the press, but it was known in Fidesz circles, and some officials in the previous government have also been aware of it. Direkt36 has learned of the visit from three sources independent from each other. Simicska did not respond to our questions while Nyerges said that he never talks to the press. Orb\u00e1n\u2019s office did not answer the question of how much he knew about the two businessmen\u2019s trip.<\/p>\n
Orb\u00e1n\u2019s allies went to meet an FSB official because the Russian secret service is often involved in state-related businesses. Sources familiar with the meeting said that no concrete deals came out of it. One source described it as an \u201cintroductory visit.\u201d Another said that the FSB official told Simicska and Nyerges that, if they need help in business, they \u201ccan rely on Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2010 meeting shows how Orb\u00e1n and his inner circle made efforts to forge a close bond with Putin\u2019s Russia even before they won the 2010 election by a landslide. Since then, this connection has attracted worldwide attention. Putin, who is considered a dangerous opponent by most Western leaders, has become a frequent visitor to Budapest. Hungary and Russia have also struck several major business deals. Most notably, Orb\u00e1n\u2019s government decided to contract Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear company, to expand Hungary\u2019s Paks Nuclear Power Plant \u2014 a choice made without a public tender.<\/p>\n
Orb\u00e1n had been a staunch critic of Russia for most of his career, so exactly what led him to seek ties with Putin has been the subject of widespread speculation in recent years. Direkt36 spent months interviewing more than thirty sources with knowledge of Orb\u00e1n\u2019s moves. Because of the sensitivity of the issue, all of them asked for anonymity.<\/p>\n
According to these sources, Orb\u00e1n has been telling his own people that he\u2019s building a closer relationship with Russia to strengthen Hungary\u2019s standing internationally. He thinks that Hungary\u2019s economy can profit from this connection, and he believes it also gives the country a better bargaining position vis-\u00e0-vis Western powers. Orb\u00e1n, according to those who know him, enjoys maneuvering among powerful leaders. He finds Hungarian politics boring and is convinced of his own extraordinary political abilities (of which he even brags about in private).<\/p>\n
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