The US’s Warning Shot: What Sanctions Against A Russian “Spy” Bank Mean for Budapest

Yesterday's sanction of IIB could be the beginning of Hungary's isolation

13 April 2023

Iván László Nagy

Marcin Król Fellow

For days, there has been huge speculation about possible American sanctions against Hungary. So far, only a Russian entity is involved – but it is more likely to be the beginning rather than the end of the story.

Since last summer, the Hungarian government has been claiming that American-Russian peace talks shall end the war in Ukraine. Around the same time, the propaganda machine launched a campaign claiming that US Democrats tried to interfere with Hungarian elections by funding the opposition. Then, Fidesz’s anti-sanctions campaign began, labelling the US and the EU as warmongers, a narrative which lives on to this day.

Last autumn, a new ambassador, David Pressman, arrived in Budapest and immediately got caught in the crossfire, with Orbán calling him the man who came to pressure us, with the pun fully intended.

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Iván László Nagy

Marcin Król Fellow

Marcin Król Fellow. Ivan Laszlo Nagy is a 23-year-old Budapest-based political journalist, writing for a leading independent Hungarian news site, hvg.hu. As a UK graduate, his academic research about the communication techniques of populist regimes transformed into critical reporting about global democracy, with a special focus on quasi-authoritarian political flows in the West and in Hungary. His work as a reporter, analyst and commentator revolves around understanding the dynamics of societies oppressed by modern semi-dictators and working out ways for meaningful civic action within them, with special emphasis on mobilising young people for democratic action.

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