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[00:02:01] and this week we are with you from Hungary.
[00:02:05] Following a major political upheaval, I have come here to understand how Viktor
[00:02:08] Orban, with the longest prime ministerial term in the European Union, lost
[00:02:12] power, and whether his downfall could be a wake-up call
[00:02:16] for populist leaders around the world. Also in this
[00:02:19] program, we reveal how self-proclaimed extremist Russian
[00:02:23] groups, by creating fear and intimidation, target citizens
[00:02:26] who they claim are Russia's enemies. The surrogacy
[00:02:35] industry in Ukraine has generated billions of dollars for the country, but
[00:02:39] now politicians are considering banning foreign couples from
[00:02:43] paying Ukrainian women
[00:02:54] Budapest, directly in front of the Hungarian Parliament,
[00:02:58] where on the 9th, thousands of people gathered
[00:03:02] to celebrate a rare political event in Europe today. Viktor
[00:03:05] Orban had the longest prime ministerial term in the European
[00:03:09] Union, and over 16 years, he built
[00:03:13] a political system around himself and changed the face of democracy
[00:03:16] to maintain power. For this reason, the results of the April
[00:03:20] elections, with an extraordinarily high voter turnout of over 80%,
[00:03:23] surprised many. Peter Magyar, the new Prime
[00:03:26] Minister of Hungary, said that the system
[00:03:44] of the Hungarian constitution, we will ensure that the concentration of power, as we have witnessed in the past,
[00:03:48] never happens again in this
[00:03:50] country.
[00:03:53] How did Peter Magyar manage to achieve such a stunning victory,
[00:03:57] and what does the defeat of Viktor Orban, a close ally of Donald
[00:04:01] Trump and Vladimir Putin, who for years has been a thorn in the side of the European Union and
[00:04:05] Ukraine, mean for Europe and the world? To
[00:04:08] understand the extensive dominance of Viktor Orban and the Fidesz party over
[00:04:12] Hungarian institutions, I spoke with Agnes
[00:04:16] Ferencz, a civil society expert.
[00:04:18] کردم.
[00:04:21] In the past five years, since the coronavirus pandemic, a state
[00:04:25] of emergency has been in effect. This means they could suspend the implementation
[00:04:28] of laws and even pass new laws
[00:04:32] without parliamentary interference. The enormous propaganda machine of the Fidesz
[00:04:36] party also played a significant role in maintaining power.
[00:04:39] Viktor Orban also used his authority to allocate
[00:04:42] funds to consolidate his dominance across the country.
[00:04:46] Government funds and European Union funds were distributed
[00:04:50] among cities based on their support for Fidesz. That is, mayors who
[00:04:54] supported Fidesz received funding for their cities. Even at
[00:04:57] the local level, these mayors only allowed people who voted for the party
[00:05:00] access to the government employment program.
[00:05:04] Orban's populism was welcomed by ordinary Hungarians. It should not
[00:05:08] be forgotten that Orban's government really
[00:05:42] was in the beginning, it was an excellent Viktor is a great
[00:05:45] leader. Many people traveled to Budapest
[00:05:49] to learn from the man who had brought the democratic system to the brink
[00:05:52] of collapse and still retained power, but
[00:05:55] discontent was growing, and a new political
[00:05:59] coalition was formed. This is the headquarters of Partizán, one of
[00:06:02] the most influential political YouTube channels in Hungary, a media
[00:06:06] outlet that was once one of the few platforms not controlled
[00:06:09] by Orban. In 2024, Partizán published
[00:06:13] an interview that became highly controversial on social media. This interview was with
[00:06:16] an influential figure in the political structure who had left Orban's party
[00:06:20] due to concerns about corruption. That politician
[00:06:24] was Peter Magyar. A system can collapse very
[00:06:27] quickly, in a few weeks or even in a few
[00:06:31] moments. Magyar became a prominent figure overnight and within
[00:06:35] two years was able to remove Viktor Orban from power.
[00:06:38] I asked the political editor of Partizán how Peter Magyar and his party
[00:06:43] achieved this success. The interesting
[00:06:46] lesson to be learned from this election is that the reason for their victory
[00:06:49] was not the mobilization of this or that particular social group, but rather their ability
[00:06:53] to form a much broader coalition than anyone had imagined.
[00:06:56] I think during the election campaign, Peter
[00:07:00] Magyar visited hundreds of cities, including small towns whose
[00:07:04] residents were not accustomed to politicians paying attention to them. My second
[00:07:07] point is that his messages revolved around issues
[00:07:11] that were not particularly controversial
[00:07:14] in terms of culture. He focused on issues where his
[00:07:17] own position was shared with the position of the overwhelming
[00:07:21] majority of Hungarians, who are a conservative society.
[00:07:24] But after the initial excitement begins
[00:07:28] to confront reality, the real challenge begins: dismantling a system
[00:07:31] built to maintain power.
[00:07:35] Regarding the remaining former elite, we are seeing
[00:07:38] signs of a fundamental change. The media system of Mr.
[00:07:42] Orban is collapsing at an unexpected
[00:07:45] rate. So here too, we are witnessing a fundamental change.
[00:07:48] And here, a more important question arises: Can
[00:07:52] Hungary, which was once a symbol of the growing wave of conservative populism,
[00:07:55] now be the point from which this wave begins
[00:07:59] to recede? And
[00:08:03] now to Russia, where a new spontaneous movement has emerged
[00:08:06] across the country, accelerating the trend towards
[00:08:10] nationalism and control. They call themselves "Ruska
[00:08:13] Obshchina" and are accused of targeting those they consider
[00:08:17] enemies of Russia by creating fear and intimidation. Members of this
[00:08:21] group say they defend public order and support the war, but critics
[00:08:25] warn that they are arbitrarily taking on the role of law enforcement, and
[00:08:28] some of their members are linked to extremist movements. The BBC
[00:08:32] has been tracking the rise of this group.
[00:08:34] کرده.
[00:09:57] She was crying loudly. The situation was very
[00:10:01] bad. Alongside the police, masked men
[00:10:05] with the "Ruska Obshchina" emblem forcibly entered the premises.
[00:10:09] They forced the guests to show their passports
[00:10:12] and took their pictures. I immediately realized that these
[00:10:16] were not police officers. They had no
[00:10:18] proper uniform, nothing. They were
[00:10:22] just ordinary people.
[00:10:26] My friend was filming. One of the members of
[00:10:29] Ruska Obshchina went up to him and threatened him,
[00:10:33] saying, "Do you want to end up like this too? What? Do you want to lose
[00:10:37] your phone?" "Why are you asking that?" "It's obvious. Do you want your phone
[00:10:40] or not?" "I'm filming
[00:10:42] you."
[00:10:45] I felt like everything was pre-arranged and that they were
[00:10:48] specifically targeting me and everything I
[00:10:51] represent.
[00:10:56] When I was leaving the party, they
[00:10:59] interrogated me. An officer
[00:11:02] took me aside to talk
[00:11:05] to me. He said, "I don't
[00:11:08] conform to traditional values. I'm
[00:11:12] a problematic person, and people
[00:11:15] like me should leave the
[00:11:18] country."
[00:11:27] Coinciding with Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which he claimed
[00:11:31] was aimed at "denazifying" the country, developments that had already
[00:11:35] begun in Russia accelerated. We must
[00:11:38] resist ideas imposed on
[00:11:41] our citizens, especially the youth, that
[00:11:45] threaten our values. Patriotic education,
[00:11:48] a war economy, and the suppression of dissent became
[00:11:52] part of everyday life.
[00:12:05] Putin increasingly championed an image of Russia rooted
[00:12:09] in the past and called for a return to
[00:12:12] traditional values. Across the country,
[00:12:16] nationalist movements followed his lead
[00:12:19] and emerged.
[00:12:21] Activists of these groups
[00:12:31] say they help maintain public order, support
[00:12:34] the war effort, and seek to revive Russian
[00:12:37] identity. Their critics say some of these groups
[00:12:40] are a front for extremist activities and intimidation.
[00:12:44] Ruska Obshchina, or the Russian Community,
[00:12:48] is by far the largest of these groups.
[00:12:51] This group now has nearly 150 branches
[00:12:55] across Russia and the occupied territories.
[00:12:59] Ruska Obshchina is an informal group of Russians
[00:13:01] who have come together to support each other.
[00:13:05] Our focus is on helping the community and keeping
[00:13:08] our traditions and cultural identity alive.
[00:13:12] We are everywhere, just
[00:13:13] look around.
[00:13:17] If you see a Russian, it might be one of us. This
[00:13:20] group operates through a widespread network of social
[00:13:24] media channels. These channels promote
[00:13:27] Russian identity, the war, and intimidating
[00:13:31] actions against those they believe undermine
[00:13:35] their values. Dmitry joined Ruska
[00:13:50] Obshchina over three years ago. He spoke
[00:13:53] to us on condition of anonymity and under the pseudonym
[00:13:57] Dmitry. We
[00:13:59] are doing a lot for the community now.
[00:14:03] We are trying to make the world a better place.
[00:14:07] This group primarily targets immigrants, but
[00:14:10] abortion clinics are also among its targets.
[00:14:13] "Why are you killing Russian children?" and
[00:14:17] cultural
[00:14:17] events.
[00:14:21] We are trying to eliminate some of this filth
[00:14:49] People are tired of all this chaos.
[00:14:51] People see that the police can't handle
[00:14:55] the situation. They want to help the community and the government
[00:14:59] to make the streets safe. This means
[00:15:02] resisting foreign
[00:15:05] influence.
[00:15:10] Ruska Obshchina mobilizes its thousands of followers on Telegram,
[00:15:14] urging them to take action in their neighborhoods. These actions
[00:15:17] often begin with followers reporting suspicious activities
[00:15:21] in group chats. Then, members of Ruska
[00:15:25] Obshchina, either accompanied by law enforcement
[00:15:28] or alone, arrive at the scene and confront
[00:15:32] the individuals they have targeted. Some actions are also
[00:15:35] pre-planned, including raids on construction
[00:15:39] sites, dormitories, shops, and nightclubs.
[00:15:43] Members publish videos of these
[00:15:46] actions to encourage others to take similar
[00:15:49] actions. Some of these posts have been viewed
[00:15:53] hundreds of thousands of times. To understand
[00:15:56] the scope of this group's activities, the BBC has analyzed over 21,000
[00:16:00] posts published in their main public channels on Telegram
[00:16:03] and confirms that the activists of this group
[00:16:10] In over 300 of these cases, the actions were carried out
[00:16:13] with the accompaniment of law enforcement. The actual numbers are likely higher.
[00:16:17] One month after the raid
[00:16:21] on Katya's party, she was prosecuted on charges of insulting
[00:16:24] religious feelings, a criminal offense that
[00:16:28] can carry up to three years in prison.
[00:16:30] The basis
[00:16:34] of the accusation was that members of Ruska Obshchina
[00:16:54] Witnesses claimed she had insulted the feelings of Orthodox believers.
[00:16:57] My opinion is that the people
[00:17:01] from Ruska Obshchina created the situation themselves,
[00:17:05] and then they come and say they were insulted.
[00:17:09] You know, if they hadn't
[00:17:11] attacked my party, they wouldn't have seen
[00:17:15] anything to be insulted by, and they wouldn't have
[00:17:19] had any excuse to punish me.
[00:17:23] In court, I looked
[00:17:30] into the eyes of the witnesses and hoped
[00:17:33] for a spark of humanity within them. One of Katya's friends recorded
[00:17:42] her last words in court. "I don't accept
[00:17:46] the accusation. The witnesses who lied
[00:17:49] must be held accountable."
[00:17:52] Something like this doesn't
[00:18:00] happen overnight, especially not across
[00:18:04] the whole country.
[00:18:07] It is highly likely that the Kremlin is aware of Ruska Obshchina's
[00:18:11] activities and is currently allowing it to continue its work. If
[00:18:15] it were otherwise, they would have shut it down by now. That's how
[00:18:18] it works. They ban anything they don't want,
[00:18:21] just like that.
[00:18:25] At the group's annual ceremony commemorating Russian
[00:18:28] traditions, powerful and influential figures, as well as controversial
[00:18:32] individuals, are present in the front row, including
[00:18:35] Archimandrite, one of the influential figures
[00:18:57] portraying itself as a grassroots movement originating from society.
[00:18:59] "There is no oligarch behind us. Let them say
[00:19:03] whatever they want. No one funds us."
[00:19:05] However, financial documents seen by the BBC
[00:19:08] show that this group receives money from anonymous
[00:19:12] charities. One of these foundations
[00:19:15] belongs to Sergei Mikheev, who is famous for his controversial
[00:19:19] statements on television. He is reported to have close ties
[00:19:23] with the Kremlin and also carries out missions
[00:19:26] for Russian intelligence agencies abroad.
[00:19:30] Another consistent financial supporter of this group is a foundation
[00:19:33] controlled by Igor Khudyakov, a reclusive
[00:19:37] billionaire and one of Russia's largest landowners.
[00:19:53] Well, I was sentenced to 20
[00:19:56] hours of community service.
[00:19:59] I felt defeated. I experienced a very bad
[00:20:03] feeling. The BBC has interviewed a number
[00:20:10] of Ruska Obshchina supporters who explained how
[00:20:14] the groups of this movement mobilize alongside government institutions.
[00:20:18] In contrast, critics say the online content of this
[00:20:21] group exaggerates the true extent of their activities.
[00:20:25] We also spoke with many victims who, out of fear,
[00:20:28] were unwilling to speak on camera and spoke of the hostility
[00:20:32] and intimidation that cast a shadow over their daily
[00:20:36] lives. How long this movement will last depends
[00:20:40] on the ruling system. However, their ideas and views
[00:20:43] continue to spread.
[00:20:45] Ukraine has long been one of the main
[00:20:48] centers for surrogacy in the world, and the low cost and relatively
[00:20:52] easy laws in this field have attracted applicants from various
[00:20:55] countries to Ukraine. Even after the start of
[00:20:59] Russia's full-scale invasion, this industry has continued, and fertility
[00:21:03] clinics have adapted to wartime conditions.
[00:21:07] However, Ukraine's role in this industry has not been without controversy.
[00:21:10] The Ukrainian Parliament is currently considering a new law
[00:21:14] that could prohibit foreigners from using surrogate
[00:21:18] mothers in the country. An action that may
[00:22:16] The use of a surrogate mother was their last resort.
[00:22:20] Ryan offers something that few countries have:
[00:22:23] a tried and tested legal system and an affordable
[00:22:27] option for surrogacy. Now, after nine months, they are meeting
[00:22:31] their son for the first time. For a moment, I think to myself, "Is
[00:22:34] this really happening? Is this really our baby?" You've dreamed
[00:22:38] of something like this for years, and now your wish has finally
[00:22:42] come true. This is so
[00:22:45] good.
[00:22:47] This was the best thing that
[00:22:59] Thousands of people travel to Ukraine for surrogacy every year.
[00:23:03] Even with the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the war
[00:23:06] disrupted the industry's activities, but it could not stop
[00:23:10] it. My name is Karina, I'm 22, and I'm pregnant
[00:23:14] with a Chinese couple's
[00:23:15] child.
[00:23:19] When our situation
[00:23:28] was such that we were counting change to buy baby formula and diapers,
[00:23:32] that's when I thought to myself, "I have to
[00:23:36] do something." She now receives approximately
[00:23:39] $17,000 for this pregnancy. "I know
[00:23:43] it's not my child, but I still love them. I talk
[00:23:46] to them. When they kick, I talk to them."
[00:23:50] Critics say cases like Karina's raise difficult
[00:23:54] questions. Surrogacy clinics very
[00:23:58] openly say they target poor women. And now that
[00:24:02] the war continues, the number of poor women is growing more and more.
[00:24:06] Desperate and penniless women who have lost their jobs
[00:24:09] and sources of income want to survive and support
[00:24:12] their families. And surrogacy clinics
[00:24:16] offer them this opportunity because Western couples
[00:24:20] want to have children at low cost. I am egg donor
[00:24:23] number 43. Surrogacy clinics do not share
[00:24:27] this view. They say they provide an opportunity
[00:24:31] for women to earn income legally while helping
[00:24:34] others to have children. This has become a multi-billion
[00:24:38] dollar global industry. Clinics compete on websites
[00:24:42] and social media to attract clients, and their advertising
[00:24:46] methods are sometimes very explicit and even aggressive.
[00:25:03] Our investigations show that in many cases, applicants travel
[00:25:06] to Ukraine late to pick up their babies. Some
[00:25:10] clinics even have special rooms for keeping
[00:25:14] these babies.
[00:25:21] Just now, we heard the air raid siren,
[00:25:24] which means all the children are being
[00:25:27] taken to the basement to be safe.
[00:25:31] It is in such a tense and dangerous environment
[00:25:35] that applicants sometimes leave their babies in Ukraine
[00:25:38] for a period of time. However, this situation may soon
[00:25:42] change. The Ukrainian Parliament is currently considering a new
[00:25:46] law that could ban the use of surrogate mothers
[00:25:50] for foreign parents, effectively ending the activity of one
[00:25:53] of the world's largest surrogacy markets. The purpose of
[00:25:57] the bill is to have clear regulations for this field
[00:26:01] because currently there is practically
[00:26:03] nothing. For many couples around the world, this is an
[00:26:07] opportunity to turn their long-cherished dream of parenthood
[00:26:11] into a reality. You know,
[00:26:14] I think it's completely wrong and
[00:26:17] inhumane. We help them, and they help
[00:26:21] us. If this opportunity didn't exist, our child
[00:26:25] Alexander wouldn't be with us. Many
[00:26:28] countries have already banned or restricted surrogacy.
[00:26:32] How long will this opportunity continue
[00:26:35] to exist
[00:26:36] in Ukraine?
[00:28:06] The water and suffering of Iranians. When
[00:28:09] Tehran's metro destroyed the Mehr aqueduct in Toopkhaneh,
[00:28:13] we disrupted the physical environment.
[00:28:16] Other fishermen
[00:28:20] are like us. They are also unemployed.
[00:28:23] The same fate has befallen the lagoons as has befallen
[00:28:27] our other demands. It's saline
[00:28:30] water now, because of water scarcity.
[00:28:42] Karun has enriched an Iran that is an oppressed,
[00:28:46] grieving mother, but an Iran has forgotten it.
[00:28:50] It's a shame that such beauty
[00:28:52] is disappearing.
[00:28:58] Water Season with Kaveh Madani on Aparat.
[00:29:07] The US midterm elections: A tight race for
[00:29:11] both houses of Congress. Democrats' bid to
[00:29:14] control Congress in the midterm elections. The war with Iran
[00:29:18] has significantly increased gasoline and diesel prices
[00:29:21] and intensified economic pressure on American
[00:29:25] voters. Will Republicans pay the price for Trump's
[00:29:28] declining popularity? What is the impact of these elections on America's
[00:29:32] future? Stay with us for comprehensive
[00:29:35] coverage of the midterm elections from BBC Persian.
[00:30:23] Breaking news:
[00:30:25] I can say that we have now reached a two-day plan.
[00:30:28] Tehran declares readiness to open the Strait
[00:30:31] of Hormuz. In 48 hours, Mohsen Rezaee spoke
[00:30:35] with Putin. Beijing said they support Iran's right
[00:30:38] to defend itself.
[00:30:41] A wave of criticism against the attack on a Qatari
[00:30:45] gas tanker in the Persian Gulf. The Revolutionary Guard claimed
[00:30:48] to have targeted 11 vessels in the past nine
[00:30:51] days.
[00:30:56] Controversy in the state of Michigan.