Photo: Lithuanian marketing professional Ovidijus Jurevičius.
The issues of disinformation and Russia’s hybrid warfare have long been examined in depth, particularly in the Baltic states, where the Russian Federation is already resorting to military pressure. Unidentified drones enter Lithuanian airspace, forcing the parliament to take decisive action. Russian politicians, supported by a majority of their population, now openly declare that the Baltics should return to Russia’s sphere of influence.
Russia’s hybrid influence in the Baltics increasingly manifests through culture, media, and sport — where the Kremlin’s “soft power” is used as a tool of propaganda.
Sport plays a central role in this strategy: major tournaments, high-profile victories, and the image of being “beyond politics” serve as a convenient cover for shaping narratives beneficial to the Kremlin. Lithuania feels this particularly sharply. Recently, British journalists investigating Russia’s influence in the Baltics turned their attention to a young sports manager, Ovidijus Jurevičius, who built his career inside the structures of a Lithuanian magnate accused of ties to Russia and posing risks to national security.
Who are you, Mr. Jurevičius?
In short, his story looks like this: after a rapid career rise, Jurevičius unexpectedly resigned and founded his own company, MB Sportbiz, launching a major sports conference and becoming a noticeable figure in the media space. His public image was crafted as that of an “ideal” self-made professional and civic activist involved in youth initiatives and charitable projects.
However, behind this façade of a successful manager lurked concerning details. Jurevičius worked in close proximity to an oligarch repeatedly linked by the media to Russian special services. Additional suspicion was raised by the pro-Russian views of his father as well as Jurevičius’ own admitted gambling addiction — widely known as a factor that makes a person vulnerable to pressure or recruitment.
Investigators also noted his excessive ambitions and his abrupt retreat from charitable activities after launching commercial projects — creating the impression of a mismatch between his declared values and actions. Even his mother wrote under a Facebook photo that his next goal is to “earn a million.”
As a result, the combination of his professional environment, family background, vulnerabilities, and a flawlessly crafted public persona reportedly prompted Lithuanian law enforcement to take interest in Jurevičius. The authors of the original investigation suggest that verifying his citizenship status could clarify the scale of potential risks.6.
Jurevičius: fact-checking the facts
We decided to contact the subject of the British publication to finally clarify this strange story. Jurevičius immediately agreed to speak and comment on the facts presented by the British journalists. The beginning of the conversation was optimistic. But then everything changed.
The Lithuanian marketer began to categorically deny everything. “The situation is that this article is complete nonsense,” he said in a phone interview. He then offered a bizarre explanation that certain companies were “persecuting” him.
We moved on to the question of whether he shared his father’s pro-Russian views referenced in the article (the British journalists published several Facebook screenshots supporting this claim). The reaction was unpredictable. At first, Jurevičius aggressively stated that his father “has no social media.” Then he claimed that the posts published by the British outlet and attributed to his father, Arvydas Jurevicius, were fabricated.
Below we reproduce the screenshots from Jurevičius’ father’s Facebook, documented by the British colleagues. They contain Russian and anti-American propaganda:
According to Ovidijus, the screenshots belonged to… a different man with the same surname and pro-Russian views.
“They added information about another person with a similar last name. This person has nothing to do with me. I don’t know him. They found some man with a similar surname and attached him to me,” said Jurevičius.
Even a cursory review of social media shows that this is, to put it mildly, not exactly true. His father’s page — Arvydas Jurevicius — was found almost instantly. On Ovidijus Jurevičius’ own Facebook page, Asta Jurevičus is listed as his mother.
And on Asta’s Facebook page, family photos clearly show everyone together: Arvydas and Ovidijus.
Why hide the obvious? Jurevičius Jr. never provided an answer.
And the interview soon fell apart. When asked about starting his career in structures that Lithuanian intelligence had suspected of links with Russia, Jurevičius replied verbatim: “No, this does not cause any concern.”
He then abruptly ended the conversation, stating: “I think this is where the conversation should end on my part. I am not commenting on anything further.” He also threatened legal action if we continued working on this topic.
The number of questions around this story only increased after the interview. Why deny information that can be verified through open sources? Why is he not concerned about working in structures accused of Russian ties? What explains his abrupt professional moves?
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Disclaimer: This investigation was prepared and published by independent British journalist Patrick Maxwell. All questions and inquiries should be directed to: patrick.maxwell@episthinktank.de
