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00:00:48Welcome to Global Eye, a program from BBC World Service. Every
00:00:52week, we bring you the best investigative reports from BBC World Service and important
00:00:56and interesting reports from BBC correspondents around the world.
00:01:00I'm Stephanie Hecarty, and this week we are with you
00:01:03from Hungary. Following a major political transformation, I have come
00:01:07here to understand how Viktor Orbán, with the longest term as Prime
00:01:11Minister in the European Union, lost power, and whether
00:01:15his fall could be a wake-up call for populist leaders around
00:01:18the world. Also, in this program, we will reveal how
00:01:22extremist vigilante groups in Russia, by creating fear and
00:01:25intimidation, target citizens whom they claim are enemies of Russia.
00:01:28Who financially supports these groups,
00:01:32and do they operate with the approval of the Kremlin?
00:01:36The surrogacy industry in Ukraine has generated billions of dollars for the country.
00:01:39But now politicians are considering
00:01:42banning foreign couples from paying
00:01:45Ukrainian women for this purpose. We will
00:01:49delve into the details of this
00:01:50issue.
00:01:53This is Kossuth Square in Budapest, right in front of
00:01:57the Hungarian Parliament, where on the day
00:02:43we will ensure that the concentration
00:02:46of power on the scale we have seen in the past
00:02:49never happens in this country.
00:02:51How did Péter Magyar manage to
00:02:54achieve such a stunning victory
00:02:58and defeat?
00:04:00They only allowed people who had voted for the party to access government
00:04:03employment programs. Orbán's populism was well received
00:04:07by ordinary Hungarians. It should not be forgotten that
00:04:11Orbán's government was truly popular in its early days. For example,
00:04:14they significantly increased employment and spoke to people in a way that
00:04:18was truly appealing to them and connected
00:04:21with them. With a nationalist rhetoric. He became
00:04:25a role model for leaders interested in conservative populism
00:04:28around the world. We
00:04:32love Viktor. I call him Viktor. You know,
00:04:36I kind of mispronounce his name. You're amazing. I
00:04:39know many people don't agree with me, but the only person whose opinion matters
00:04:43is me. You are amazing, Viktor. He is a great
00:04:46leader. Many flocked to Budapest
00:04:49to learn from the man who had pushed the democratic system to the brink
00:04:53of collapse and still maintained power. But
00:04:56discontent was growing, and a new political
00:05:00alliance was formed. This is the headquarters of Partizán, one of
00:05:03the most influential political YouTube channels in Hungary. A media
00:05:07outlet that was once among the few platforms not under Orbán's
00:05:10control. In 2024, Partizán published an interview
00:05:14that became highly controversial online. This interview was with an influential
00:05:18figure in the political structure who had left Orbán's party due to his concerns
00:05:22about corruption. That politician was Péter Magyar.
00:05:25A system can collapse
00:05:28very quickly. In a few weeks, or even in a few
00:05:32moments. Magyar became a prominent figure overnight and
00:05:35within two years managed to remove Viktor Orbán from
00:05:38power. I asked the political editor of Partizán how Péter Magyar and
00:05:42his party, Tisza, managed to achieve this
00:05:45success. An interesting lesson to be learned from this election is that the reason for their victory
00:05:49was not the mobilization of this or that particular social group,
00:05:53but rather that they were able to form a much broader coalition
00:05:56than everyone had imagined. I think during the election
00:06:00campaign, Péter Magyar visited hundreds of cities, including
00:06:03small towns whose people were not used to politicians paying
00:06:07attention to them. My second point is that
00:06:10his messages revolved around topics that were not
00:06:13very controversial culturally. He focused
00:06:16on issues where his own position
00:06:20aligned with the position of the vast majority of Hungarian people,
00:06:23who are a conservative society. But after the initial
00:06:27excitement, it's time to face reality, and the main challenge begins:
00:06:31dismantling a system built to maintain power.
00:06:34Regarding the former elite
00:06:37class, we are seeing signs of a fundamental
00:06:40change in the system.
00:07:05where a new spontaneous movement has emerged across the country, accelerating
00:07:09the trend towards nationalism and control.
00:07:12They call themselves "Russkaya Obshchina" and are accused of targeting those they consider
00:07:16enemies of Russia by creating fear and intimidation. Members of this
00:07:20group say they defend public order and support
00:07:24the war. But critics warn that they have arbitrarily taken on
00:07:27the role of law enforcement, and some of their members are connected
00:07:31to extremist groups. The BBC has been following the rise
00:07:35of this group.
00:08:12The essence of the party is its unique clothing and atmosphere.
00:08:16I made a poster that said "Themed Party."
00:08:20I only posted it in a private
00:08:23group.
00:08:24Just
00:08:30when I was about to blow out the candles, some
00:08:34uninvited guests forced their
00:08:37way into my private party. At
00:08:41first, I thought it was a joke. Then I realized
00:08:44something terrible was happening. From every
00:08:46direction, I heard sounds of fighting and
00:08:50struggle. They hit my friend with the butt of a
00:08:53rifle. They punched a girl and threw her
00:08:57to the ground. She was crying loudly.
00:09:01It was a very bad situation. Alongside
00:09:04police forces, masked men with the Russkaya Obshchina insignia
00:09:08forcibly entered the premises. They forced guests
00:09:11to show their passports and took their photos.
00:09:15I realized right then that these were not police
00:09:18officers. They didn't have proper uniforms or
00:09:21anything. They were just ordinary people.
00:09:24My
00:09:27friend was filming. One of the members of
00:09:30Russkaya Obshchina went up to him and threatened him,
00:09:34saying, "Do you want to end up like this too? What? Do you want
00:09:38to lose your phone? Why are you asking this? It's obvious.
00:09:40Do you want your phone or not?"
00:09:45I felt like everything had been coordinated beforehand, and
00:09:49specifically, they had targeted me and everything
00:09:52I represented.
00:09:54When I was leaving
00:09:58the party, they interrogated
00:10:01me. An officer took me
00:10:04aside to talk to me.
00:10:07He said, "I don't conform to traditional
00:10:10values." I am a problematic person,
00:10:14and people like me should
00:10:18leave the
00:10:18country.
00:10:28Coinciding with Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which he claimed
00:10:32was aimed at de-Nazifying the country, the developments
00:10:35that had already begun in Russia accelerated.
00:10:39We must resist ideas that are imposed on our
00:10:43citizens, especially young people, and threaten our
00:10:46values. Patriotic education,
00:10:50a wartime economy, and the suppression of dissent became part of
00:10:53life.
00:11:06Putin increasingly promoted an image of Russia rooted
00:11:10in the past and called
00:11:13for a return to traditional values. Across
00:11:17the country, nationalist movements also emerged, following
00:11:21him. Activists
00:11:32of these groups say they help maintain public order,
00:11:35support war efforts, and
00:11:39seek to revive Russian identity.
00:11:42Their critics say some of these groups are a cover
00:11:46for extremist activities and intimidation.
00:11:48Obshchina or the Russian
00:11:52community is by far the largest
00:11:56of these groups, now with nearly 150 branches across
00:12:00Russia and occupied territories.
00:12:02Russkaya Obshchina is an informal
00:12:06group of Russians who have gathered to support each other. Our focus
00:12:09is on helping the community and keeping our traditions and cultural
00:12:13identity
00:12:14alive.
00:12:18We are everywhere. Just look around you. If you see a Russian,
00:12:21it might be one of us. This group uses a wide
00:12:24network of channels on social media
00:12:28to recruit members. These channels promote Russian
00:12:31identity, war, and intimidating actions
00:12:34against those they believe undermine their
00:12:38values.
00:12:50Dmitry joined Russkaya Obshchina more than 3 years
00:12:54ago. He spoke to us on condition of anonymity, using the pseudonym
00:12:58Dmitry. We are
00:13:00doing a lot of things for society now.
00:13:04We are trying to build a better world. This
00:13:07group mainly targets immigrants. But abortion
00:13:10clinics are also among their targets. "Why are you killing Russian
00:13:14babies?" And cultural events?
00:13:18We
00:13:22try to be a part of this mess.
00:13:32We make sure people watch what they say and don't
00:13:35talk nonsense. After I was wounded at the front line,
00:13:39I joined Russkaya
00:13:41Obshchina.
00:13:43If I were to describe Russkaya Obshchina in one word, I would
00:13:47say brotherhood.
00:13:50People are tired of all this chaos. People
00:13:54see that the police can't handle the situation. They want to help
00:13:58society and the government to keep the streets
00:14:01safe. This means resisting
00:14:04foreign
00:14:05influence.
00:14:11Russkaya Obshchina mobilizes thousands of its followers on Telegram
00:14:15and asks them to take action in their neighborhoods.
00:14:18These actions often begin with followers reporting
00:14:22suspicious activities in group chats. Then, members
00:14:26of Russkaya Obshchina, either with law enforcement
00:14:29or alone, arrive at the scene
00:14:32and confront the people they have targeted.
00:14:36Some actions are also pre-planned, including raids on
00:14:39construction sites, dormitories, shops, and night
00:14:43clubs. Members publish videos of these actions
00:14:46to encourage others to take similar
00:14:50actions. Some of these posts have been viewed
00:14:54hundreds of thousands of times. To understand
00:14:57the scope of this group's activities, the BBC has analyzed over 21,000
00:15:01posts published on their main public channels on Telegram
00:15:04and confirms that the group's activists have carried out over
00:15:08900 raids. Of these, over 300 were carried out
00:15:11with law enforcement agencies.
00:15:15The actual figures are likely higher than
00:15:18this.
00:15:22One month after the raid on Katya's party,
00:15:25she was prosecuted for blasphemy, a criminal offense that can carry
00:15:29up to 3 years in prison.
00:15:31The
00:15:35basis of the accusation was that members of Rus.
00:15:51The court documents related to this case have been
00:15:54reviewed. Witnesses claimed that she had insulted the feelings
00:15:57of Orthodox believers.
00:15:59I
00:16:02think the people of Russkaya Obshchina themselves
00:16:05created a situation so they could then claim
00:16:09they were insulted. You know,
00:16:12if they hadn't attacked my party,
00:16:15they wouldn't have seen anything to be
00:16:18insulted by, and they wouldn't have
00:16:22had an excuse to punish
00:16:24me.
00:16:31In court, I looked into the eyes of the witnesses
00:16:34and hoped that a spark of humanity
00:16:37would awaken in them and they would understand what they were
00:16:41doing. One of Katya's friends recorded
00:16:45her last words in court. I
00:16:48do not accept the accusation. The witnesses who lied
00:16:52must be held
00:16:53accountable.
00:17:01Something like this doesn't happen overnight, especially across
00:17:05the country.
00:17:08It is highly likely that the Kremlin is aware of Russkaya Obshchina's
00:17:12activities and is currently allowing it to continue its work. If
00:17:16it were otherwise, they would have shut it down by now. This is how it
00:17:19works. They ban anything they don't
00:17:22want. It's that simple.
00:17:26At the group's annual ceremony to commemorate Russian
00:17:29traditions, powerful and influential figures, as well as controversial
00:17:33individuals, are present in the front row, including the Archbishop. Following
00:17:46his public support for the group, the Orthodox Church
00:17:49instructed all its bishops in Russia to cooperate with the group's local branches, a move that brought Russkaya Obshchina closer
00:17:53to official institutions. Obshchina
00:17:56presents itself as a popular movement born from the heart of society.
00:18:00No oligarch is behind us. Let them
00:18:04say whatever they want. No one funds us.
00:18:08However, financial documents seen by the BBC show
00:18:12that this group receives money from anonymous
00:18:15charitable foundations. One of these foundations belongs to Sergey
00:18:19Mikheev, who has become famous for his controversial statements
00:18:23on television. He is reported to have close ties to the Kremlin
00:18:27and also carries out missions for Russian intelligence agencies
00:18:31abroad. Another regular financier of this
00:18:34group is a foundation under the control of Igor Kholmov,
00:18:38an reclusive billionaire and one of Russia's largest landowners.
00:18:53So I was sentenced to 20 hours
00:18:57of community service.
00:19:00I felt defeated. I experienced a very bad
00:19:04feeling. The BBC has spoken
00:19:11with a number of Russkaya Obshchina supporters who explained
00:19:15how the groups of this movement are mobilized alongside
00:19:19government agencies. In contrast, critics say that the group's online
00:19:22content exaggerates the true extent of their
00:19:26activities. We also spoke to many victims who, out of fear,
00:19:30were unwilling to speak on camera and spoke of the hostility
00:19:33and intimidation that has cast a shadow over their
00:19:37lives. How long this movement will last depends
00:19:41on the ruling system. However, its ideas and views
00:19:44are still spreading.
00:19:46Ukraine has long been one of
00:19:50the main centers for surrogacy in the world, and the
00:19:53low cost and relatively easy laws in this field
00:19:57have attracted applicants from various countries to Ukraine.
00:20:00Even after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, this
00:20:04industry continued, and fertility clinics adapted to wartime
00:20:07conditions. However, Ukraine's role in this industry has not been without
00:20:11controversy. Now, the Ukrainian parliament is considering
00:20:14a new law that could prohibit foreigners from using surrogate motherhood
00:20:18in the country, a move that could have global
00:20:22consequences. Sofia Bettiza, BBC Global Health correspondent,
00:20:26reports.
00:20:26Today
00:20:32is a beautiful day. The sky
00:20:35is blue, the sun is shining, and we
00:20:38are very excited to see our baby.
00:20:42Elena and Igor have entered Ukraine, a country
00:20:46severely affected by 4 years of war. They have traveled nearly
00:20:502,000 kilometers from Macedonia to Ukraine.
00:20:53I'm very scared to come here because of all the things I see in the
00:20:57news, you know, it's war here after all. We want to have
00:21:01children. We are willing to do anything to have children.
00:21:05If necessary, we'll move
00:21:07mountains. This was not an easy decision. They
00:21:11tried for 9 years with several rounds of IVF and surgeries
00:21:15to have children. Surrogacy was their last
00:21:18resort. Ukraine offers something that few countries
00:21:21have: a proven and respected legal system
00:21:25for surrogacy. Now, after 9
00:21:28months, they are meeting their son for the first
00:21:32time. For
00:21:35a moment, I tell myself, "Is this really happening? Is this really
00:21:39our child?" You've dreamed of something like this for years,
00:21:42and now your dream has finally come true. This
00:21:45is so
00:21:48good. This was the best thing
00:21:52that ever happened
00:21:53in our lives.
00:21:57Elena and Igor are not alone. Every year, thousands
00:22:01travel to Ukraine for surrogacy. Even with the start of Russia's
00:22:04invasion of Ukraine, the war disrupted the industry's
00:22:08operations, but it could not stop it. I am Karolina.
00:22:12I am 22 years old, and I am pregnant with the child of a Chinese
00:22:16couple. When
00:22:20Karolina was 17, her home in Bakhmut was destroyed
00:22:24by a Russian attack, and she became homeless.
00:22:27We had reached a point where we were counting change to buy
00:22:31formula and diapers for our baby. That's when
00:22:35I thought to myself, "I have to do something."
00:22:38Now, in exchange for this pregnancy, she receives about
00:22:41$17,000. I know it's not my baby, but I still
00:22:45love her. I talk to her. When
00:22:48she kicks, I talk to her.
00:22:51Critics say cases like Karolina raise
00:22:55difficult questions. Surrogacy clinics openly
00:22:58stated that they target poor women. Now that the war
00:23:01continues, the number of poor women is increasing.
00:23:05Women who are desperate and penniless, who have lost their
00:23:08jobs and sources of income, want to survive
00:23:12and support their families, and surrogacy clinics offer
00:23:15them this opportunity because Western couples
00:23:19want to have children at a low cost. I am egg
00:23:23donor number 413. Surrogacy
00:23:26clinics do not share this view. They say
00:23:30they provide an opportunity for women to earn income legally
00:23:33while helping others have children. This has become
00:23:37a multi-billion dollar global industry.
00:23:41Clinics compete on their websites and social networks to attract
00:23:44clients, and their advertising methods are sometimes very
00:23:47explicit. Our
00:24:04investigations show that in many cases, applicants travel
00:24:07to Ukraine with delays to pick up their babies. Some
00:24:11clinics even have special rooms for these
00:24:14infants.
00:24:21We just heard the air raid siren.
00:24:25This means all the babies are being taken
00:24:28to the basement to be safe.
00:24:32It is in such a tense and dangerous environment that
00:24:36applicants sometimes leave their babies in Ukraine for a period.
00:24:39But this situation may soon change.
00:24:43The Ukrainian parliament is considering a new law that could prohibit
00:24:46foreign parents from using surrogacy,
00:24:50effectively ending the activity of one of the world's largest
00:24:53surrogacy markets. The goal of the bill
00:24:57is to have clear regulations for this
00:25:00area, because currently, there is practically nothing.
00:25:02For many couples around
00:25:06the world, this is an opportunity to turn their long-held
00:25:09dream of parenthood into
00:25:11reality. You know, I
00:25:15think it's completely wrong. It's
00:25:18inhumane. We help them, and they help
00:25:22us. If this opportunity didn't exist, our baby
00:25:26Alexander wouldn't be with us. Many
00:25:29countries have already banned or restricted surrogacy.
00:25:32How long will this opportunity continue
00:25:35to exist in
00:25:37Ukraine?
00:25:46Thank you for being with me in Hungary. We would like your
00:25:50opinion about Global Eye, so please share your thoughts with us on social
00:25:54media using the hashtag BBC Global Eye. Until next
00:25:57week,
00:25:58goodbye.
00:26:45We ourselves had sheep when the lake had water. We
00:26:48had 200 sheep. Now we have 200
00:26:52sheep. When our lake had water,
00:26:55it was abundant. You can
00:26:58see, a drop of rain comes for these
00:27:01walls. Now there's
00:27:03no water in our lake, and the condition of its people.
00:27:06The Lake of Hamoun this week on Aparat.
00:27:24All these warnings and concerns about the future of competition over artificial intelligence, where
00:27:27does it come from? This gentleman, Jacob Cokson, a researcher at Anthropic, on the dangers
00:27:31of artificial intelligence.
00:27:39Be aware that the competition for improving AI has become so
00:27:42fast that practically no one is paying attention to security concerns. He said that
00:27:46he believes there is more than a 10% chance that within the next three to four
00:27:50years, AI will have sacrificed all of us humans for its own
00:27:53progress. To put it more bluntly, he means there's a one in ten
00:27:57chance that AI will have killed all of us by then. He said that because
00:28:01of this situation, he is quitting his job. He also told his former colleagues to consider
00:28:04their options and resign. The issue has become politicized because some
00:28:08say this is to drive up stock prices before its IPO.
00:28:12Some say this is to make us fall behind
00:28:15China. Others say it's just big companies trying to collude to slow down the pace for
00:28:19smaller companies. In short, there's a lot of debate
00:28:22about whether these dangers are real or if the whole thing is just a show. But how
00:28:26can the very tool that many of us are already using in diverse
00:28:30and fun ways be a factor in human
00:28:32extinction? From my perspective, there are three categories of danger.
00:28:36The first category is the danger of losing control, where AI
00:28:40takes control of the internet, takes control of weapons,
00:28:43and directly harms people. If we take safety
00:28:47seriously now, it's that AI gets out of control and
00:28:51kills all of us. It's possible, but in my opinion, the biggest danger
00:28:54right now is not this danger. From my perspective,
00:28:57the other two dangers, the misuse of AI and bad products, are
00:29:01very dangerous. The biggest scams using fake
00:29:04voices, cyber attacks, and widespread surveillance
00:29:08are having very bad effects and harms on society. And the third issue
00:29:12is products like AI girlfriend companions
00:29:16that can give this feeling of companionship but always affirm people
00:29:20and harm the mental health of young people, especially teenagers,
00:29:23and so far, a lot of self-harm
00:29:27and bad things have happened to teenagers, and it has had very
00:29:30bad effects on their mental health. These are all the things that concern
00:29:34me much more. Now, what can we do, who are not involved
00:29:38in these AI tools and are just living our simple lives?
00:29:41The main thing we can do is
00:29:45before believing anything, to think about it several times before
00:29:49sharing a video of a talking cat, to think whether it's real
00:29:53or AI. Don't share our banking information with anyone. Be careful
00:29:56about scams and online dangers. Know that bad
00:30:00actors exist and can easily misuse AI.
00:30:04And this is much worse than AI getting out of control, and it's much
00:30:07closer. Fear of the future should not hide the harms of today
00:30:11and what is happening now from our eyes. Are you concerned about the future
00:30:15of AI and
00:30:16us humans? Write
00:30:23to me. And now on BBC Persian television, current
00:30:27issues.
00:30:44The continuation of the "no war, no peace" situation between Tehran
00:30:48and Washington, alongside reports of US
00:30:51and Israeli readiness for a potential attack
00:30:54on Iran, Reuters reports that Qatar has proposed a new
00:30:57deal.