Putin entrusted his fishing buddy's son-in-law with handling relations with Orbán
Tigran Garibyan, Minister-Counselor at the Russian Embassy in Budapest, serves as Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for communications with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
According to the Agency, Garibyan accompanies the Russian president to all meetings with the Hungarian leader as an interpreter, particularly during visits to Moscow and at international events. He is the son-in-law of former Khakassia head Viktor Zimin, who accompanied Putin during a vacation in Siberia in 2017.
According to European intelligence agencies, Garibyan is involved in a campaign to support the Fidesz party ahead of the parliamentary elections in Hungary. He holds regular meetings with pro-government Hungarian journalists, providing instructions for spreading the narrative that Orbán is the sole guarantor of the country’s sovereignty. The diplomat’s brother, Artem Garibyan, heads one of the departments at Promzvyazok Bank, which serves as a key financial institution for Russia’s defense-industrial complex.
In addition to Garibyan, another of Putin’s translators—Daria Boyarskaya, who previously participated in negotiations with Donald Trump—works within the OSCE structures in Hungary. Hungarian human rights activists are demanding her removal from the observer mission due to suspicions that she is working on behalf of the Kremlin. While Russia is expanding its network of influence in Europe, the international community is documenting numerous instances of Russian diplomatic representatives interfering in the internal political processes of EU countries.
Earlier, Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar stated that Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, together with Russian political strategists, is preparing a large-scale campaign to discredit opponents ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for April 12, 2026.
The Russian Federation has launched a large-scale disinformation campaign in Hungary aimed at strengthening the position of incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ahead of the April 12 elections.
