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Several thousand people demonstrated outside Hungary's parliament on Sunday, telling the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to respect its Western ties a day before a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The West has watched with growing alarm as Orbán's centre-right Fidesz party has edged closer to Russia at a time of an escalating conflict in Ukraine. Two weeks after Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected in Budapest.
Protesters held up signs and chanted slogans to demand that Hungary stay within the EU's fold and away from the Kremlin's orbit, demanding Orbán's ouster for eroding democratic freedoms, perceived corruption and diplomatic conflicts with the West.
>>Read: Hungarian parliament chief: We could leave the EU
"We dislike the directed democracy, the kind of dictatorship Putin has built in Russia. And this is the direction in which the Orbán government is going," protester Jozsef Bruck said.
"European politicians look away, and they can do that because their voters don't care. We are trying to change that."
Fidesz has seen a steep fall in popularity in recent months, highlighting cracks within the party whose core members have begun to grow restive.
>>Read: Hungary attempts to bypass EU law on South Stream
Helped by a weak opposition, Orbán remains firmly in control of Hungary and of the party he has led for most of its 27-year history and he does not face another parliamentary election until 2018.
Protesters held up several signs written in German, meant as direct messages to Merkel. One read: "Our Angela! Please deliver us from evil! We want to stay EU citizens."
Vilmos Torok, the protester who held up that sign, said: "We are brothers here in Europe with Germans. I expect her to tell Orbán to back off, behave in a more European way... His disrespect for liberal freedoms has earned him the Little Putin moniker in Europe - but also in Hungary."
>>Read: Hungary's Orbán wants warmer EU-Russia ties to boost business
