A day after his party’s historic victory in Hungary’s parliamentary elections, Hungary’s incoming prime minister Péter Magyar outlined his vision for foreign policy. Although, unlike Viktor Orbán, he strongly criticized the regime in the Kremlin, his remarks yesterday absolving “ordinary Russians” of responsibility for imperialism are raising justified controversy, especially when confronted with hard data.
During yesterday’s speech, the leader of the victorious party was directly asked whether he sees Russia as a threat to Europe. The future head of the Hungarian government gave a clear answer, though with an important qualification.
“Yes! I believe that is the case, and I think everyone understands it,” Magyar replied, emphasizing that his assessment applies exclusively to the Russian political leadership. As he clarified: “I am not talking about the Russian nation or Russian culture.”
Hungary’s incoming prime minister also referred to history, recalling that Hungary has repeatedly faced Russian threats in the past century, in the 1920s, and during the 1956 revolution. The speech was also an opportunity for sharp criticism of the current head of diplomacy from the Fidesz party, Péter Szijjártó, and his very close contacts with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov.
“Even in football, I cannot walk into the opposing team’s locker room and explain our game plan. All the more unacceptable is the idea that Russian spies could enter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,”
the politician stressed, calling such actions absolutely unacceptable.
However, equating the threat solely with Vladimir Putin and his inner circle is far removed from the realities within the Russian Federation itself. Public opinion research systematically conducted by the independent Levada Center clearly shows that so-called ordinary citizens support armed aggression against Ukraine and imperial policy.
Here is the latest overview of Russian public support for their army’s actions, which stands in clear contrast to the Hungarian prime minister’s words:
March 2026: According to the latest survey recently published by the Levada Center, as many as 72.2% of Russian respondents support the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine. Additionally, 57% believe that Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure are “justified.”
December 2025: At the end of last year, 73% of respondents declared support for the actions of occupying forces. Only 18% of citizens expressed opposition to their army’s criminal actions.
October 2025: In the autumn, the percentage of those supporting the war reached as high as 78% (with 48% “strongly” supporting the aggression and 30% “somewhat”). Support for military actions was recorded as strongest among men (83%), residents of Moscow itself (83%), and viewers of Russian television (87%).
Although studies from the turn of 2025 and 2026 indicate that the overall share of Russians expressing a desire to return to peace negotiations is increasing (over 60% of respondents), independent analysts consistently highlight an important caveat: the overwhelming majority of those favoring a ceasefire support peace talks only on the condition that any agreements guarantee Russia’s retention of control over illegally annexed territories.
This data clearly shows that while the change of power in Budapest signals a shift in Hungary’s stance toward the Kremlin government, separating the actions of Vladimir Putin from the support for the war within Russian society itself is entirely unjustified and dangerous. “Ordinary” Russians, in their overwhelming majority, remain the backbone that enables Russian imperialism to continue waging a destructive war in Central and Eastern Europe.