Located in front of the Hungarian Parliament in the heart of Budapest, Kossuth Square was packed on Sunday, May 18, with protesters rallying against the latest authoritarian move by the nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban. "Viki, it's over," chanted around 10,000 people, using the nickname of the Hungarian leader who seeks to establish a "register of foreign-funded organizations" in this Central European country, modeled after Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Waving Hungarian and European flags, the crowd listened to several speeches by students, influencers, journalists, and NGO representatives criticizing the bill presented on May 13 by an MP from Orban's party. For many of these protesters, often young and who have only known Orban in power, this piece of legislation, unparalleled in the European Union, marks their country's "slide into dictatorship."

"When I saw the bill, I realized it would even become complicated to make simple donations to the independent press," criticized Roland, 22, a junior airline pilot protesting with his high school friend Peter, a psychology student. "They aren't even trying to hide that they're openly copying Russia," Peter said. The two young Budapest residents declined to give their last names. "In any other European country, I would do it without a problem, but here I'm too afraid it might harm me," said Roland.

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