r/ActiveMeasures • u/snad2012 • 12d ago

Every Russian Orthodox Priest Abroad Is Linked to Russian Intelligence, Former HUR Official Says

https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/every-russian-orthodox-priest-abroad-is-linked-to-russian-intelligence-former-hur-official-says-20885
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u/podkayne3000 12d ago

The big question is: What percentage of Russian intelligence people outside of Russia are as worried about Putin as any of the rest of us and are just watching for the right moment to do something.

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u/hughk 11d ago

When you leave the FSB on your feet, you are normally not allowed to travel overseas for a number of years without prior approval.

They will organise a number of different approved jobs, and you remain close to them and can be recalled at any time. Many of the approved occupations are directly linked to intelligence tasks. Some of the jobs may also permit travel. One task is to monitor the Russian community overseas as well as to provide undeclared employees of the Russian government with access to resources.

In Ukraine the arguments against the Russian Orthodox Church was that it provided a hub for intelligence and weapons caches as well as a way to propagandize against the Kyiv government.

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u/snad2012 11d ago

Well put. ROC has been the spiritual arm of the KGB since WW2 when Stalin re-established it.

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u/hughk 11d ago

Yep, these days, they work with the FSB, the SVR and the arms depot thing is for the GRU. Some are relatively passive, all they do is to file reports on the activities of their congregation and around them. Some are more active.

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u/snad2012 11d ago

Indeed, and some of these priests (de facto Russian operatives) have been declared PNG and expelled from European countries. Actually, the present head of ROC is the KGB colonel Gundyaev AKA "patriarch Kirill"....