VSquare, Author at VSQUARE.ORG

Inside Viktor Orbán’s Response to the War in Ukraine

Illustration: Péter Somogyi (szarvas) / Telex.hu

Viktor Orbán was preparing for an important meeting that would attract international attention, but things did not go according to plan.

VSquare

28.10.2022

„Human Life Has No Value There“: Baltic Counterintelligence Officers Speak Candidly About Russian Cruelty

Baltic States, War in Ukraine

Source: James O'Brien / Eesti Express

The Estonian weekly Eesti Ekspress interviewed the heads and several employees of Estonia’s, Latvia’s, and Lithuania’s state security agencies. This is what they had to say regarding Russia.

VSquare

18.10.2022

Andrej Babiš’ questionable investment partner

corruption

Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis stands trial for alleged EU subsidy fraud in Prague

Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis arrives at his trial for alleged EU subsidy fraud at the Municipal Court in Prague, Czech Republic, September 12, 2022.,Source: David W. Cerny / Reuters / Forum

Since being ousted as prime minister in the 2021 Czech parliamentary elections, now-MP Andrej Babiš has made investments in Slovenia. Ten percent of Babiš’s Slovak partner is owned by Anna Bubeníková, who gained infamy for her role in the Gorilla corruption scandal.

VSquare

12.10.2022

Broadband in Europe: The Czech Republic lagging behind the rest of V4

The European Union has set 100 Mbps threshold by the end of 2025. Source: Gts / Shutterstock

Internet speed performance in Europe is continuously increasing, but many countries are still well below the 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) threshold that the European Union has set itself to achieve by the end of 2025, as shown by the data collected by the European Data Journalism Network.

VSquare

28.09.2022

Visegrad at the crossroads

Viktor Orban, War in Ukraine

Political,Map,Of,Europe,With,Flags,Of,Member,Countries,Of

Visegrad group. Source: michal812 / Shutterstock

How has the war in Ukraine changed the V4 and relations between its members? How have these countries managed the refugee crisis and what can we expect in the near future?

VSquare

22.09.2022

Ukrainian refugees in Hungary: Volunteers doing the government’s work

refugees, War in Ukraine

Budapest,,Hungary,-,March,5,,2022,,Ukraine,War,Refugees,Arriving

Ukraine war refugees arriving at railway station greeted by aid workers handing out food and supplies, Budapest, Hungary, 5 March 2022. Source: lithian / Shutterstock

Even though there are barely more than twenty thousand refugees from Ukraine in Hungary (as opposed to the government’s claims of hundreds of thousands, or over a million), the refugee care system is still crumbling.

VSquare

20.09.2022

Four Scenarios for Europe

War in Ukraine

Source: Visegrad Insight, https://visegradinsight.eu

In the next years to come, Europe will be tormented by overlapping conflicts of varying nature, that will put additional pressure on the democratic setup of the Union and its immediate neighbourhood – writes Wojciech Przybylski, Editor-in-Chief of Visegrad Insight, in the Executive Summary of new report: War and the Future of Europe.

VSquare

16.09.2022

NewsFront: Slovak lawyer producing pro-Russian propaganda

propaganda, War in Ukraine

Cover photo: kremlin.ru, Flag pole photo created by jannoon028 - www.freepik.com

The Slovak-language version of NewsFront is currently disseminating pro-Russian claims about the invasion of Ukraine. Who is the creative force behind the Slovak NewsFront site? The findings of the Investigative Centre of Ján Kuciak (ICJK) suggest it could be lawyer and member of the Slovak Union of Antifascist Fighters, Vladimír Zemko.

VSquare

09.09.2022

NewsFront: From Crimea with hate

disinformation, propaganda, War in Ukraine

Source: ICJK

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as we found out, NewsFront has been playing a significant role in spreading anti-Ukrainian narratives in some Visegrad countries – especially in Slovakia. A complex redistribution scheme allows Kremlin propaganda to avoid bans and reach audiences in the region.

VSquare

10.08.2022

“The Killing of a Journalist” director:
I can’t break down, even if the whole crew does

Jan Kuciak

Director Matt Sarnecki and Pavla Holcová in Karlovy Vary. Photo: investigace.cz

The European premiere of “The Killing of a Journalist” took place during the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary. The document tell the story of a murdered Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina, which lead to uncovering of just how rotten the local system was and a wave of public unrest which inevitably changed the whole country.

VSquare

11.07.2022