Three individuals playing a particularly active role in Maria Karystianou’s party, which will be officially announced the day after tomorrow, Thursday, from Thessaloniki, are giving the venture a “pro-Russian tint.” They are businessman Giannis Moisidis, who maintains both a personal and business relationship with the 53-year-old pediatrician; the president of the Greek Community of Saint Petersburg, Stratos Siourdakis, who teaches Greek in Russia and Russian online to Greeks; and veteran journalist Thanasis Avgerinos, who has been based in Moscow since as far back as 1986 and is expected to become the party’s press spokesperson.

Mr. Moisidis is among the venture’s most fervent online supporters, while Mr. Siourdakis was the one who, without any prior coordination, livestreamed via Facebook the signature collection process for the new party, having grasped the impact of social media. Thanasis Avgerinos, with the statement “I couldn’t possibly be absent,” signaled the active role he is expected to have from now on.

The Greek man behind the Russian GPS

An important link in the chain connecting Karystianou’s party with Russia is businessman Giannis Moisidis, with whom Maria Karystianou maintains a close personal relationship, while the two also share a company. The company is WhereaboutTravels, in which each holds a 50% stake.

Mr. Moisidis, father of two children, is a man with broad business activity in Greece and the Netherlands, as well as in countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the United Arab Emirates, according to his LinkedIn profile. Having studied in Belgium and Great Britain, Mr. Moisidis’s main area of activity is navigation systems.

Businessman Giannis Moisidis

As he himself notes on his LinkedIn page, in 2011–12 he participated as a special expert on the board of NIS, a company involved with Russia’s state-run Glonass agency — the Russian State Satellite Services Provider (Russia’s GPS system). In fact, information suggests he was the only non-Russian to hold even a non-executive seat on the organization’s board. According to reports, his entry onto the board came following the replacement of then-Civil Protection Minister and later Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. During that period, Mr. Moisidis is said to have developed ties with high-ranking Russian government officials, which he reportedly still maintains. Later, in 2014, Mr. Moisidis moved to Dubai as managing director of Space Team Int. The company is described as a Russian startup promoting Russian telematics technology in the Gulf region. Using the same technology, Mr. Moisidis was also at that time managing director of Whereabout Ltd in Abu Dhabi.

On September 13, 2022, Giannis Moisidis and Maria Karystianou founded the company Whereabout Travels, headquartered in Epanomi, Thessaloniki. The business activity concerns real estate, including property management, the construction and renovation of homes and tourist accommodations, as well as the organization of travel packages. According to the financial data published in the General Commercial Registry (GEMI), in the two balance sheets for fiscal years 2023 and 2024, the company posted revenues of €1,978 and losses exceeding €11,000 in total for the two years. In 2024, the two partners each contributed €150,000 to the company.

Russian lessons

The second person close to Maria Karystianou with a direct connection to Russia, where he has been professionally active for at least 12 years, is Stratos Siourdakis, the man behind the video of the signature collection at Ms. Gratsia’s office.

According to information on his page, following the Center for Greek Language Studies he operates in Saint Petersburg, Mr. Siourdakis also launched a corresponding online Center for Russian Language Studies. One of his students, as he himself revealed, is 1980s straight-to-video actor Nikos Ziagkos.

As one can read on Mr. Siourdakis’s page: “The Center for Greek Language Studies, which we operate in Saint Petersburg, has already earned the trust of thousands of students, and now we are ready to expand our knowledge and services, providing every interested person the opportunity to engage with the Russian language at a model center unique of its kind, directly connected to the heart of Russia.” It is also noted that “the opportunity we offer is not limited solely to language studies. Through our Center, you will be able to build ties with people from Russia, to feel familiarity even before arriving in Saint Petersburg. Our network supports you every step of the way, making you feel that you are not alone.” Mr. Siourdakis also appears particularly active on social media — one of his accounts even displays his name in Russian — while in one of his videos he expresses admiration for Russian culture and tradition, using as an example a young man in traditional attire.

The Lomonosov graduate

A graduate of the prestigious Lomonosov University, first in philosophy and later in journalism, Thanasis Avgerinos was born in Zografou and settled in what was then the Soviet Union in 1986.

For decades he has worked as a correspondent for Greek media outlets in Russia. He has also served as a correspondent for the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA). During coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, his on-air clashes with Open TV’s Berlin correspondent Pantelis Valassopoulos have repeatedly gone viral.