This Hungarian town may have been a Russian spy centre?

Russian spy centre in Hévíz? For years, this spa town has been a significant base for major intelligence operations between the East and West.

Russian spies in Hungary

According to Blikk, it is almost certain that many spies, mainly Russian intelligence agents, have been guests of the world-famous Hévíz spa. Over the past decades, hundreds of Russian citizens have settled and become influential in and around Hévíz. The spa town has most likely become a major point of intelligence operations between the East and West.

Security policy expert Péter Tarjányi told Blikk:

“After Vienna and Budapest, the town of Hévíz may indeed play a prominent role in Russian intelligence activities. This development has been noticeable for 25 years now, with the Russians buying up a number of properties and creating a major tourist centre for their citizens.”

Read also: Hungarian politicians securing positions with huge salaries for the rest of their lives?

Why Hévíz?

HVG.hu added that Russian intelligence agents especially loved Hévíz because they could easily blend in with their own countrymen. It was therefore not a big surprise that in Hévíz in 2017, a Russian intelligence officer met Martin Müller, a former Austrian colonel, who passed on secret information about NATO’s activities. This, of course, only came to light later.

According to Tarjányi, intelligence officers working in Hungary, including possibly in Hévíz, can be divided into three groups:

first group: includes those who have diplomatic accreditation and work in this capacity in the field of military and civil intelligence;
second group: includes those who have settled with their own name, acquired real estate, and run businesses – some even try to obtain economic secrets and information from agents of other countries;
third group: includes those who get their news under a full cover, using a pseudonym and fake documents, and who, over a period of years, created a whole new existence.

HVG.hu also wrote that the five-star Lotus Therme Hotel, which is one of the largest complexes in Hévíz, is also Russian-owned.

Read also: Hungarian tourism suffers greatly from the Russian-Ukrainian war

What is more, a Russian Orthodox church is under construction not far from there. It has been subsidised by the Hungarian state to the tune of several HUF 100 million.

According to Blikk, however, we should not search for super-spies with guns hidden under their jackets in the Lotus Therme Hotel. The cars lined up outside the building mostly have Hungarian licence plates, there are only one or two with Russian ones.