On 18 January 2013, Russian government officials announced that "judges, investigators, justice ministry officials and special services agents who were involved in Russian citizens Viktor Bout's and Konstantin Yaroshenko's legal prosecution and sentencing to long terms of imprisonment" would be added to a list of U.S. officials who will be denied Russian entry visas in response to the U.S. Magnitsky Act, under which certain Russian officials are ineligible to enter the U.S. [82] This matter, however, only served to push him to obsess over eradicating human error from innovation. His growing interest in improving human performance with technology and eliminating the "grossly inefficient abberation" of human involvement created tension between him and his fellow students and professors who saw the very things Viktor sought to remove as the source of human ingenuity and creativity.

a b c d e f "The deadly convenience of Victor Bout". ETH Zurich. 24 June 2008. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010 . Retrieved 24 October 2009. As part of a drive to " re-Christianize" the country, his government has privatised many pre a b Schmidle, Nicholas (5 March 2012). "Disarming Viktor Bout - The real true story upon the life of Viktor Bout". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Brittney Griner Involved In Possible Prisoner Swap With Russia". Forbes. 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022 . Retrieved 23 May 2022.Russia called the Thai court decision in 2010 politically motivated. [78] [79] Russia's Foreign Ministry took steps to prevent Bout being extradited to the U.S. [24] Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that Bout was innocent. [24] On 17 September 2006, an audio recording surfaced from a closed-door Hungarian Socialist Party meeting, which was held on 26 May 2006, in which Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány gave an obscenity-laden speech. The leak ignited mass protests. [ citation needed] On 1 November, Orbán and his party announced their plans to stage several large-scale demonstrations across Hungary on the anniversary of the Soviet suppression of the 1956 Revolution. The events were intended to serve as a memorial to the victims of the Soviet invasion and a protest against police brutality during the 23 October unrest in Budapest. Planned events included a candlelight vigil march across Budapest. However, the demonstrations were small and petered out by the end of the year. [78] A new round of demonstrations expected in the spring of 2007 did not materialize. [ citation needed] Orbán had a close relationship with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, having known him for decades. He is described as "one of Mr Netanyahu's closest allies in Europe." [189] Orbán received personal advice on economic reforms from Netanyahu, while the latter was Finance Minister of Israel (2003–2005). [190] In February 2019, Netanyahu thanked Orbán for "deciding to extend the embassy of Hungary in Israel to Jerusalem". [191]

Sundance 2014: World Cinema Documentary Competition". Indiewire. indiewire.com. 10 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 . Retrieved 15 April 2016. In 1998, Orbán formed a coalition with the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) and the Independent Smallholders' Party (FKGP). The coalition won the 1998 parliamentary elections with 42% of the national vote. [51] Orbán became the second youngest prime minister of Hungary at the age of 35 (after András Hegedüs) [52] and the first post- Cold War head of government in both eastern and central Europe who had not previously been a member of a communist party during the Soviet-era. [7] In terms of domestic legislation, Orbán's government implemented a flat tax on personal income. This tax is set at 16%. [94] Orbán has called his government "pragmatic", citing restrictions on early retirement in the police force and military, making welfare more transparent, and a central banking law that "gives Hungary more independence from the European Central Bank". [95] The elections of 2002 were the most heated Hungary had experienced in more than a decade, and an unprecedented cultural-political division formed in the country. In the event, Orbán's group lost the April parliamentary elections to the opposition Hungarian Socialist Party, which set up a coalition with its longtime ally, the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats. Turnout was a record-high 70.5%. Beyond these parties, only deputies of the Hungarian Democratic Forum made it into the National Assembly. The populist Independent Smallholders' Party and the right Hungarian Justice and Life Party lost all their seats. Thus, the number of political parties in the new assembly was reduced from six to four. [72]Light, Felix (12 December 2022). "Freed Russian arms dealer Bout joins Kremlin-loyal ultranationalist party". Reuters . Retrieved 12 December 2022. In August 2022, Orbán was the opening speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas. [213] Domestic policy