Szabolcs Panyi
@szabolcspanyi.bsky.social
Journalist investigating Central Europe 🇭🇺🇵🇱🇸🇰🇨🇿 at VSquare.org and Direkt36.hu. Corruption, illiberalism, 🇷🇺 and 🇨🇳 meddling.
🙏 buymeacoffee.com/szabolcspanyi
📝 authory.com/szabolcspanyi
🗞️ vsquare.org/newsletter
✉️ [email protected]
🙏 buymeacoffee.com/szabolcspanyi
📝 authory.com/szabolcspanyi
🗞️ vsquare.org/newsletter
✉️ [email protected]
Pinned
Szabolcs Panyi
@szabolcspanyi.bsky.social
· Aug 27
Szabolcs Panyi is doing investigative journalism & holding power to account - Buymeacoffee
Szia! 👋I’m a Budapest-based investigative journalist dedicated to uncovering corruption, abuse of power, and Russian and Chinese espionage and influence operations in Central Europe. I also work
buymeacoffee.com
☕💡Independent investigations into corruption and abuse of power don’t come easy—they require time, resources, and risk. If you’d like to help me keep going, you can support here:
🇭🇺✈️🇷🇺 SCOOP: Viktor Orbán will meet Putin in Moscow on Nov 28, a reliable source familiar with details of the trip told me. No official confirmation yet. They’ve met 3 times since 2022 & 14 times in total.
More in @vsquare.bsky.social’s newsletter on Thursday—subscribe here: vsquare.org/newsletter/
More in @vsquare.bsky.social’s newsletter on Thursday—subscribe here: vsquare.org/newsletter/
November 25, 2025 at 1:26 PM
🇭🇺✈️🇷🇺 SCOOP: Viktor Orbán will meet Putin in Moscow on Nov 28, a reliable source familiar with details of the trip told me. No official confirmation yet. They’ve met 3 times since 2022 & 14 times in total.
More in @vsquare.bsky.social’s newsletter on Thursday—subscribe here: vsquare.org/newsletter/
More in @vsquare.bsky.social’s newsletter on Thursday—subscribe here: vsquare.org/newsletter/
💥 Viktor Orbán faces a possible ousting in April 2026 — and whether he manages to cling to power or not, his regime and its global allure as a model for autocrats worldwide are crumbling. Read the sharpest analysis available.
The Era of Orbánism as an Exportable Model May Be Ending - VSquare.org
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán’s once-admired “illiberal model” is faltering — plagued by economic crisis, voter frustration, and collapsing governance. With the 2026 election looming, his future — and the global appeal of his system — is at stake as his government faces its biggest political test.
vsquare.org
November 24, 2025 at 7:30 PM
💥 Viktor Orbán faces a possible ousting in April 2026 — and whether he manages to cling to power or not, his regime and its global allure as a model for autocrats worldwide are crumbling. Read the sharpest analysis available.
Reposted by Szabolcs Panyi
☕💡Independent investigations into corruption, espionage, and power abuses take time, resources, and risk. If you value my reporting on Russian influence and Orbán’s reach in Central Europe, you can support my work directly:
Szabolcs Panyi is doing investigative journalism & holding power to account - Buymeacoffee
Szia! 👋I’m a Budapest-based investigative journalist dedicated to uncovering corruption, abuse of power, and Russian and Chinese espionage and influence operations in Central Europe. I also work
buymeacoffee.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:11 PM
☕💡Independent investigations into corruption, espionage, and power abuses take time, resources, and risk. If you value my reporting on Russian influence and Orbán’s reach in Central Europe, you can support my work directly:
💥💰 Slovakia’s defense minister Robert Kaliňák wants to buy weapons for the Slovak army from Grand Power, a firm owned by a onetime far-right ally. These guns have a poor reputation, and Kaliňák’s own company operates from premises linked to Grand Power. @vsquare.bsky.social
The Shadowy Network Behind Slovakia’s €100M Arms Purchase - VSquare.org
Kaliňák's company is based at a property owned by people connected to the Grand Power arms factory—the very factory from which Kaliňák wants to buy 20,000 rifles for soldiers.
vsquare.org
November 23, 2025 at 9:00 AM
💥💰 Slovakia’s defense minister Robert Kaliňák wants to buy weapons for the Slovak army from Grand Power, a firm owned by a onetime far-right ally. These guns have a poor reputation, and Kaliňák’s own company operates from premises linked to Grand Power. @vsquare.bsky.social
☕💡Independent investigations into corruption, espionage, and power abuses take time, resources, and risk. If you value my reporting on Russian influence and Orbán’s reach in Central Europe, you can support my work directly:
Szabolcs Panyi is doing investigative journalism & holding power to account - Buymeacoffee
Szia! 👋I’m a Budapest-based investigative journalist dedicated to uncovering corruption, abuse of power, and Russian and Chinese espionage and influence operations in Central Europe. I also work
buymeacoffee.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:11 PM
☕💡Independent investigations into corruption, espionage, and power abuses take time, resources, and risk. If you value my reporting on Russian influence and Orbán’s reach in Central Europe, you can support my work directly:
🇭🇺 EXCLUSIVE: An in-depth look at how Viktor Orbán and Fidesz underestimated Péter Magyar until it was too late. Direkt36 reveals how Orbán’s spring offensive against him backfired—fueling internal tensions and exposing cracks inside the government.
”The situation is tense” – How Orbán has tried overcome Fidesz’s internal crisis - Direkt36
Fidesz underestimated opposition leader Péter Magyar so much that they realized too late that he posed a real threat to them. Direkt36 reveals how Viktor Orbán launched his spring offensive against Magyar and how this caused tensions within the government.
www.direkt36.hu
November 21, 2025 at 4:30 PM
🇭🇺 EXCLUSIVE: An in-depth look at how Viktor Orbán and Fidesz underestimated Péter Magyar until it was too late. Direkt36 reveals how Orbán’s spring offensive against him backfired—fueling internal tensions and exposing cracks inside the government.
💥🔎🇷🇺 This new analysis reveals the scale of Russia’s massive propaganda offensive in Moldova: 9,900 AI-generated TikTok videos with over 93 million views. Yet despite Moscow’s efforts, the pro-European PAS won the election. Read the full details on @vsquare.bsky.social:
24/7 Russian Propaganda Blitz Hit Moldova Before the Elections - VSquare.org
Moldovans had faced months, if not years, of an information onslaught at levels beyond what just about any society has faced. In the end, the pro-European ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) won 50.2% of the vote, while the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc managed only 24.2%, despite well-documented foreign interference, mainly from Russia and pro Kremlin actors.
vsquare.org
November 20, 2025 at 7:05 PM
💥🔎🇷🇺 This new analysis reveals the scale of Russia’s massive propaganda offensive in Moldova: 9,900 AI-generated TikTok videos with over 93 million views. Yet despite Moscow’s efforts, the pro-European PAS won the election. Read the full details on @vsquare.bsky.social:
💥Countries with the most porn stars per capita? Czechia, Latvia and Hungary top the list — ahead of the US & UK. This investigation uncovers how a mysterious Frenchman built a porn empire from his Czech base, using shady tactics to dominate the industry.
The Most Powerful Man in Porn? Meet Prague’s Porn Pharaoh - VSquare.org
Prague has been Europe’s unofficial porn capital for decades. For the past 20 years, one company and one man has dominated Europe’s porn industry.
vsquare.org
November 20, 2025 at 5:29 PM
💥Countries with the most porn stars per capita? Czechia, Latvia and Hungary top the list — ahead of the US & UK. This investigation uncovers how a mysterious Frenchman built a porn empire from his Czech base, using shady tactics to dominate the industry.
Reposted by Szabolcs Panyi
India: 10 NGOs, including RSF, sent a letter to the Navi Mumbai police commissioner on 19 November calling for an official investigation into death threats against journalist Rana Ayyub and demanding immediate protection for her family.
Journalist Rana Ayyub in danger in India: 10 NGOs unite to demand immediate action from police
In an open letter sent on 19 November 2025, to the Navi Mumbai police commissioner, ten NGOs — including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — called for an official police investigation into the death th...
rsf.org
November 20, 2025 at 3:57 PM
India: 10 NGOs, including RSF, sent a letter to the Navi Mumbai police commissioner on 19 November calling for an official investigation into death threats against journalist Rana Ayyub and demanding immediate protection for her family.
💥INVESTIGATION: For over a decade, ‘Pravfond’ has been providing legal aid to Russians abroad. Internal emails obtained by journalists show how it collaborated with Russian spies, funded propaganda efforts, and built points of influence along the way.
Russian Foundation, Aimed at Helping ‘Compatriots’ Abroad, Supports Spies, Criminals, and Propagandists - VSquare.org
For over a decade, ‘Pravfond’ has been providing legal aid to Russians across the world. Internal emails obtained by journalists show how it collaborated with spies, funded propaganda efforts, and built points of influence along the way.
vsquare.org
November 19, 2025 at 6:46 PM
💥INVESTIGATION: For over a decade, ‘Pravfond’ has been providing legal aid to Russians abroad. Internal emails obtained by journalists show how it collaborated with Russian spies, funded propaganda efforts, and built points of influence along the way.
📉🇭🇺 INVESTIGATION: Viktor Orbán vowed to boost Hungary’s population without immigrants. But births keep falling—and emigration is soaring. Direkt36's investigation shows many young people are leaving, posing serious risks for the country’s future.
Inside Viktor Orbán’s Failure to Achieve His Demographic Goal - VSquare.org
The Prime Minister has long said that he would like to grow the population of Hungary without bringing in immigrants. Recently, births have fallen, but the number of people leaving the country has also soared.
vsquare.org
November 19, 2025 at 2:41 PM
📉🇭🇺 INVESTIGATION: Viktor Orbán vowed to boost Hungary’s population without immigrants. But births keep falling—and emigration is soaring. Direkt36's investigation shows many young people are leaving, posing serious risks for the country’s future.
Reposted by Szabolcs Panyi
Remember Jamal Khashoggi.
November 18, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Remember Jamal Khashoggi.
Reposted by Szabolcs Panyi
💰New revelation on the Orbán family’s €30m dacha, which Viktor Orbán insists is only his old father’s agricultural site: a witness testimony reveals that his son-in-law’s company BDPST Group (known for developing luxury hotels and mansions) maintains the property.
🦓Does it look like a farm to you?
🦓Does it look like a farm to you?
November 17, 2025 at 5:21 PM
💰New revelation on the Orbán family’s €30m dacha, which Viktor Orbán insists is only his old father’s agricultural site: a witness testimony reveals that his son-in-law’s company BDPST Group (known for developing luxury hotels and mansions) maintains the property.
🦓Does it look like a farm to you?
🦓Does it look like a farm to you?
💥🇷🇺 Hungary’s pro-Kremlin far-right leader László Toroczkai (Our Homeland movement) met Medvedev to discuss Hungarian minority rights in Ukraine. Moscow has been stoking ethnic tensions in Transcarpathia, including FSB-linked false-flag attacks (arson, graffiti etc) posing as Ukrainian nationalists.
November 18, 2025 at 10:23 AM
💥🇷🇺 Hungary’s pro-Kremlin far-right leader László Toroczkai (Our Homeland movement) met Medvedev to discuss Hungarian minority rights in Ukraine. Moscow has been stoking ethnic tensions in Transcarpathia, including FSB-linked false-flag attacks (arson, graffiti etc) posing as Ukrainian nationalists.
🇨🇿 "Some people booed and shouted “shame” or “StB” at the politicians, who are negotiating a new government with SPD and the Motorists after winning the elections, referencing Babiš’s name in records as a collaborator with the communist secret police."
For freedom and democracy: Czechia remembers November 17 in both 1989 and 1939
On November 17, Czechia remembers the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and the Nazi persecution of students 50 years before that. Ceremonies were held throughout the day.
english.radio.cz
November 17, 2025 at 8:33 PM
🇨🇿 "Some people booed and shouted “shame” or “StB” at the politicians, who are negotiating a new government with SPD and the Motorists after winning the elections, referencing Babiš’s name in records as a collaborator with the communist secret police."
Reposted by Szabolcs Panyi
Big Yanukovych Energy
💰New revelation on the Orbán family’s €30m dacha, which Viktor Orbán insists is only his old father’s agricultural site: a witness testimony reveals that his son-in-law’s company BDPST Group (known for developing luxury hotels and mansions) maintains the property.
🦓Does it look like a farm to you?
🦓Does it look like a farm to you?
November 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Big Yanukovych Energy
💥 Viktor Orbán faces a possible ousting in April 2026 — and whether he manages to cling to power or not, his regime and its global allure as a model for autocrats worldwide are crumbling. Read the sharpest analysis available.
The Era of Orbánism as an Exportable Model May Be Ending - VSquare.org
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán’s once-admired “illiberal model” is faltering — plagued by economic crisis, voter frustration, and collapsing governance. With the 2026 election looming, his future — and the global appeal of his system — is at stake as his government faces its biggest political test.
vsquare.org
November 17, 2025 at 7:30 PM
💥 Viktor Orbán faces a possible ousting in April 2026 — and whether he manages to cling to power or not, his regime and its global allure as a model for autocrats worldwide are crumbling. Read the sharpest analysis available.
💥💰Hungary’s MOL oil company may buy Gazprom’s 11.3% stake in Serbia’s NIS oil firm — now under U.S. sanctions — so the Russian side (Gazprom Neft) would appear only as a minority owner (44.9%). This move could help Moscow effectively evade the Trump admin's sanctions: www.reuters.com/business/ene...
November 17, 2025 at 5:46 PM
💥💰Hungary’s MOL oil company may buy Gazprom’s 11.3% stake in Serbia’s NIS oil firm — now under U.S. sanctions — so the Russian side (Gazprom Neft) would appear only as a minority owner (44.9%). This move could help Moscow effectively evade the Trump admin's sanctions: www.reuters.com/business/ene...
💰New revelation on the Orbán family’s €30m dacha, which Viktor Orbán insists is only his old father’s agricultural site: a witness testimony reveals that his son-in-law’s company BDPST Group (known for developing luxury hotels and mansions) maintains the property.
🦓Does it look like a farm to you?
🦓Does it look like a farm to you?
November 17, 2025 at 5:21 PM
💰New revelation on the Orbán family’s €30m dacha, which Viktor Orbán insists is only his old father’s agricultural site: a witness testimony reveals that his son-in-law’s company BDPST Group (known for developing luxury hotels and mansions) maintains the property.
🦓Does it look like a farm to you?
🦓Does it look like a farm to you?
💥SCOOP: Polish president Karol Nawrocki meets Orbán in Budapest on December 4, a day after the V4 presidential meeting in Esztergom. Big question: will he meet fugitives Marcin Romanowski and Zbigniew Ziobro—and will Ziobro already have 🇭🇺's political asylum by then? More: vsquare.org/goulash-hung...
November 17, 2025 at 11:09 AM
💥SCOOP: Polish president Karol Nawrocki meets Orbán in Budapest on December 4, a day after the V4 presidential meeting in Esztergom. Big question: will he meet fugitives Marcin Romanowski and Zbigniew Ziobro—and will Ziobro already have 🇭🇺's political asylum by then? More: vsquare.org/goulash-hung...
Reposted by Szabolcs Panyi
💥Viktor Orbán’s media doxxed 200,000 opposition supporters by publishing stolen personal data, including names & addresses – unprecedented in Hungarian politics. Recovering from this, opposition leader Péter Magyar held a rally in Győr, saying they are the majority — and they’re not afraid of Orbán.
November 16, 2025 at 2:20 PM
💥Viktor Orbán’s media doxxed 200,000 opposition supporters by publishing stolen personal data, including names & addresses – unprecedented in Hungarian politics. Recovering from this, opposition leader Péter Magyar held a rally in Győr, saying they are the majority — and they’re not afraid of Orbán.
“Orbán hopes words will be enough to keep him above water,” said a diplomatic source in Washington, adding that Trump and his Republican allies had become increasingly sceptical of the Hungarian leader’s chances in next April’s elections.
@floragaramvolgyi.bsky.social @theguardian.com
@floragaramvolgyi.bsky.social @theguardian.com
Orbán’s claims of Trump summit triumph mask growing doubts over his grip on power
Embattled Hungarian leader says he won an indefinite reprieve from sanctions on oil and gas from Russia, but the US has since disputed this
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:47 PM
“Orbán hopes words will be enough to keep him above water,” said a diplomatic source in Washington, adding that Trump and his Republican allies had become increasingly sceptical of the Hungarian leader’s chances in next April’s elections.
@floragaramvolgyi.bsky.social @theguardian.com
@floragaramvolgyi.bsky.social @theguardian.com
Reposted by Szabolcs Panyi
☕💡Independent investigations into corruption, espionage, and power abuses take time, resources, and risk. If you value my reporting on Russian influence and Orbán’s reach in Central Europe, you can support my work directly:
Szabolcs Panyi is doing investigative journalism & holding power to account - Buymeacoffee
Szia! 👋I’m a Budapest-based investigative journalist dedicated to uncovering corruption, abuse of power, and Russian and Chinese espionage and influence operations in Central Europe. I also work
buymeacoffee.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:11 PM
☕💡Independent investigations into corruption, espionage, and power abuses take time, resources, and risk. If you value my reporting on Russian influence and Orbán’s reach in Central Europe, you can support my work directly:
Reposted by Szabolcs Panyi
Two years ago, Viktor Orbán’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó visited Nicolás Maduro, backed Venezuela’s pro-Kremlin regime, opposed US sanctions and interference, and even signed gas and oil agreements. I'm curious how fast they try to scrub those photos now as Trump prepares to strike Venezuela.
November 16, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Two years ago, Viktor Orbán’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó visited Nicolás Maduro, backed Venezuela’s pro-Kremlin regime, opposed US sanctions and interference, and even signed gas and oil agreements. I'm curious how fast they try to scrub those photos now as Trump prepares to strike Venezuela.
💥Viktor Orbán’s media doxxed 200,000 opposition supporters by publishing stolen personal data, including names & addresses – unprecedented in Hungarian politics. Recovering from this, opposition leader Péter Magyar held a rally in Győr, saying they are the majority — and they’re not afraid of Orbán.
November 16, 2025 at 2:20 PM
💥Viktor Orbán’s media doxxed 200,000 opposition supporters by publishing stolen personal data, including names & addresses – unprecedented in Hungarian politics. Recovering from this, opposition leader Péter Magyar held a rally in Győr, saying they are the majority — and they’re not afraid of Orbán.