He is facing a second-round run-off in the elections on Sunday, where he will run against Elena Lasconi, a former TV presenter who is campaigning on a firmly pro-EU platform.

Georgescu, whose only election campaigning has been on social media, said he would make “the Romanian people” his priority.

But he denied that his surprise success so far was the result of a Russian-backed influence operation, saying he did not care about the “lies” of his country’s intelligence agencies as he was working with God and the people.

On Wednesday, in a highly unusual move, Romania’s outgoing president published declassified documents that detailed what was called a massive and “highly organised” campaign for Georgescu on TikTok co-ordinated by a “state actor”.

The papers included an intelligence assessment that Russia was carrying out hybrid attacks on Romania, which it sees as an “enemy state”.

The constitutional court is now being flooded with requests to look into the allegations of meddling with a view to possibly cancelling the election.

Prosecutors today announced they were opening a criminal investigation but there is no timeline on when that might conclude.

“They are afraid,” is how Georgescu brushed away evidence that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent pushing campaign content for him, breaking both Romanian election law and TikTok’s own rules.

He denied that he was “Moscow’s man”, referring derisively to Romania’s “un-intelligence agencies”.

“They can’t accept that the Romanian people finally said, ‘we want our life back, our country, our dignity’,” he said, portraying himself as battling against an unyielding establishment.

In a sometimes tetchy interview in which he praised Donald Trump and the Hungarian populist leader Viktor Orban, Georgescu referred to Vladimir Putin as a “patriot and a leader”.

He then added: “But I am not a fan.

“But when questioned about Russia’s war on Ukraine, he first asked, “Are you sure of that?”, appearing to deny the war’s very existence.

He then said Romania was interested only in pushing for peace on its border but refused to say that this should be on Kyiv’s terms.

When asked whether he agreed with standing by Ukraine, as the EU puts it, “for as long as it takes”, Georgescu said “No.” He said things would change.

“I agree just that I have to take care of my people. I don’t want to involve my people,” he replied, clarifying that Romania – an EU and Nato member – would provide no more military or political support for its neighbour.

“Zero. Everything stops. I have to take care just about my people. We have a lot of problems ourselves.”

It would be a dramatic change in position for Bucharest, and one that would be music to Russian ears.

The president in Romania has considerable power, including influence on areas such as foreign policy. He is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and appoints the prime minister.

Romania shares a long border with Ukraine and has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv since the full-scale invasion in 2022.It’s provided a Patriot missile defence system as well as financial support. It’s also become a key export route for Ukrainian grain, as Russian bombardments have crippled the work of ports there.

Under a Georgescu presidency, Romania would join Hungary and Slovakia as Russia-sympathisers on the eastern flank of Nato.

It would also be a serious dent to EU solidarity on Ukraine, just as it faces the prospect of assuming more responsibility for aiding Kyiv with Donald Trump back in the White House.

Georgescu underlined that he would keep Romania inside the EU and Nato, but that everything from now on would be “negotiated” and focus on his country’s interests.

He refused to say that Vladimir Putin’s Russia was a security threat for the West.

His endorsement of conspiracy theories has also sparked concerns, including denying the Covid pandemic and doubting that anyone ever landed on the Moon.

Romania is home to a giant Nato military base, close to the Black Sea, as well as a US missile defence facility.

Georgescu now describes himself as a university teacher, but has previously worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with the UN.

He clearly does have supporters – his clean-living, Romania-first message has popular appeal, especially outside Bucharest.

But in the capital many people are worried about the direction their country may be taking.

This evening, protesters will gather in central Bucharest to call for Romania to remain closely allied with Europe.

When asked if he understood why they were scared, Georgescu shook his head: “That’s just propaganda.”

Romania’s domestic intelligence service says there are signs the effort was “co-ordinated by a state-sponsored actor”.

Calin Georgescu, a far-right Nato-sceptic who has previously praised Vladimir Putin, was almost unknown in Romania until he won the first round of voting in the presidential elections two weeks ago.

Now Romanian intelligence says his sudden and surprise surge in popularity is down to a “highly organised” and “guerrilla” campaign on social media, sharing identical messaging and using influencers.

They say it was conducted from “external locations” to bypass controls.

A separate intelligence assessment says that Romania has been identified as an “enemy state” by Moscow and a priority target for what it calls “aggressive hybrid actions”.

The politically explosive information – which has landed just days before the second round of voting – comes from declassified documents published this evening by the outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis.

They reveal how paid content supporting Georgescu was promoted on TikTok, without being marked as election campaigning – in violation of the platform’s own rules and of Romanian electoral law. Other candidates’ content was subject to closer controls.

Georgescu has always said he spent “zero” on election promotion, denying he was even campaigning.

But the intelligence documents identify one TikTok account which they say made payments of $381,000 (£299,819; €361,872) in just one month from 24 October – to users who were promoting Georgescu.

Georgescu claims the release of the documents is a coordinated attempt to block his candidacy.

“I think it’s the first time in the history of the world when a state is organising an action against a candidate to stop him from running,” he said in a TV interview on Wednesday.

He also denied knowing any of the influencers or funders mentioned in the reports.The documents released in this highly unusual move were all papers drawn up for a meeting of the security council following the first round of the presidential election.

They also reveal that access data for electoral websites was stolen from legitimate users and published online “on cyber-crime platforms originating from Russia”.

Separately, the intelligence agencies report some 85,000 attempted hacks in an attempt to access electoral data and change content – including on election day. The report says the cyber-attackers used advanced methods to remain anonymous, working in a way and on a scale “typical of state-sponsored actors”.

An investigation is ongoing to discover who was responsible and whether there was any impact on the election.

Russia has denied any interference in Romania’s election process.

Far-right frontrunner Georgescu is due to face reformist candidate Elena Lasconi in a second round vote on Sunday.

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu – who came 3rd in the presidential race – has now announced he will “fully endorse” Elena Lasconi.But that’s assuming the vote goes ahead. The prosecutor’s office is now examining the new documents.

“I hope that, based on the evidence published today, the state authorities will take appropriate action, and all those responsible will be held accountable,” Ciolacu said.

He added that people’s votes have shown they want the “continuation of Romania’s European development path”.

A pro-EU protest has been called for Thursday evening.

Commenting on the protest, Georgescu warned against possible unrest, citing the “Maidan” in Ukraine – the revolution of 2014 that ousted a pro-Russian president.

“Please stay at home with your family. We need social tranquillity. God will not let Romania down,” Georgescu said.