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The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has drawn suspicion due to the location of its churches near strategic sites in Europe. For example, in Sweden, one of its churches is located next to a nuclear fuel plant and an airport. This raises the question: are churches being used to gather intelligence? The article explores the possibility that the ROC is not only a religious organization, but also part of Russia’s global network of influence.
In the city of Västerås, Sweden, construction of an Orthodox church began in 2013, which raises many questions due to its proximity to strategically important objects. The rector of the church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is priest Pavel Makarenko, who has been in Sweden since 2010. Although Makarenko himself has not visited Russia since moving, his activities are still associated with supporting Russian interests in Europe.
The construction of the church lasted six years, and it was only officially consecrated in November 2023. The ceremony was attended by Vladimir Lyapin, a diplomat from the Russian Embassy in Sweden, whom local authorities suspect of spying for Russian special services.
Local residents drew attention to the high fence and surveillance cameras installed around the church. This raises questions about the true purpose of this building.
Interestingly, the land for the construction was purchased in 2013 with the assistance of the Russian state corporation Rosatom. The construction permit was issued by the then head of the local construction department, Lars Kallseby, and the process of approving the documentation was unusually fast for Sweden. Although it was officially stated that the funding came from donations and foundations, the Swedish media revealed a direct connection to Rosatom, which covered the construction costs.
The location of the temple also raises suspicions. It is located 4.2 km from the Westinghouse Electric plant, which produces nuclear fuel, only 500 meters from Västerås flygplats airport, and is also close to strategic bridges, the energy company Mälarenergi and the metallurgical plant ABB Metallurgy.
Analysts note that the temple in Västerås can serve not only religious purposes, but also serve as an important point for collecting information due to its proximity to strategic objects in Sweden.
The rector of the church in Västerås, Father Pavel Makarenko, attracted public attention after Swedish journalists published information in August 2024 about his close ties to Russia. In particular, it was about the gratitude that Makarenko received from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. In addition, he tried to deny that his parish was financed by Rosatom.
Makarenko previously held the position of CEO of the Swedish company NC Nordic Control AB, owned by Russian developer Pavel Gerasimov. This company, without the presence of warehouses, showed a turnover of about 40 million kronor. Gerasimov himself, in addition to participating in church projects in Sweden, was involved in a drug trafficking case.
Before working in Västerås, Makarenko led parishes in other Swedish cities. In the city of Arbors, its church was located 8,377 meters from a military facility controlled by the Telecommunications and Information Systems Unit of the Swedish Armed Forces. In the city of Gävle, the church was located 1,990 meters from the Swedish National Guard base, 1,110 meters from a military training ground, and only 140 meters from a railway track.
Interesting cases have occurred in other cities. For example, in the city of Uppsala, the church is located 750 meters from a government institution and 2,660 meters from an air base with a military school. Its rector, priest Vitaly Babushin, was sent to serve in Sweden in 2010. He previously worked in the Moscow region, where he participated in the restoration of the Pokrovsky Church.
Babushin is also involved in the management of foreign institutions of the Moscow Patriarchate in the city of Jönköping, where an energy company is located nearby. This arrangement of churches and their abbots raises many questions about the possible informal tasks of churches in Sweden.
In the capital of Sweden, Stockholm, the church of the Sergius parish is located 4 kilometers from the state institution Försvarsdepartementet (Swedish Ministry of Defense) and 6 kilometers from the military base Försvarsmakten Högkvarteret. Such proximity of the church to key strategic objects raises many questions.
The parish priest is Abbot Nikita (Oleg Stanislavovich Dobronravov), who also works in the Department of External Church Relations. He simultaneously heads the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh, also located in Stockholm. His activities, as well as the geographical location of the churches, draw attention to the possible informal purposes of religious objects in Sweden.
The church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Stockholm is located at Bellmansgatan 13, 11847, Sweden.
It is located approximately 770 meters from the Embassy of the Czech Republic. In addition, other diplomatic missions, including the German and Polish Embassies, are located about 1.5 kilometers away. This city center location provides convenient access to many important institutions and facilities.
In the city of Gothenburg, there is a parish dedicated to the Protection of the Mother of God, which is located just 2 kilometers from the power plant and 12 kilometers from the military facility. The parish priest is Archpriest Sergey Bondarev, who is also responsible for the Easter service in the city of Helsingborg. This church is located 1.4 kilometers from the port, which is an important transport hub in the region.
In the city of Boliden, a church dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was built in 2017. The church is located half a kilometer from a mining company that extracts ores containing zinc, copper, lead, gold and silver. The church priest is Archpriest Maxim Smirnov, and the deacon is Alexander Byednov. Archpriest Smirnov has a diverse education: he graduated from the Balashov Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots in 1988, the Tauride National University with a degree in law in 2002, and the Belgorod Orthodox Theological Seminary.
The location of these churches near strategic sites raises many questions about their potential influence and functions in the region.
A church in honor of the martyr Irina has been operating in the city of Bryne since 2014. The rector is Archpriest Vasily Petrov, who also holds the position of vice-rector of the correspondence department of the Kaluga Theological Seminary. In March 2022, he was among those clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church who publicly supported the actions of the Russian army. The church is located 650 meters from the production of Nordic Steel AS, which specializes in steel structures, and 586 meters from IXYS Norway AS, a company that develops semiconductors. Automation and machining companies also operate in the immediate vicinity.
The parish of St. Princess Olga has been operating in the capital of Norway, Oslo, since 2003. The church is located near government institutions such as the parliament, ministries and diplomatic missions, including the embassies of Canada, Kazakhstan, Georgia and others. The abbot is Archimandrite Kliment Huhtamäki, who has been organizing parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Norway since 1997. He refrains from public comments on the war in Ukraine.
The city of Kirkenes has a parish in honor of the Rev. Tryphon of Pecheneg. The church is located a few hundred meters from the Swedish consulate, the municipality and the Russian embassy, and 5 kilometers from the military garrison. The area is characterized by close ties with Russia, which makes this location interesting in the context of international politics.
In Varde, a chapel of the Russian Orthodox Church was built in 2017, located near the GLOBUS radar system, which is a key object of Norwegian national security. The project to build the church received support from local authorities and funding within the framework of friendly initiatives between Norway and Russia, but was later canceled due to geopolitical circumstances.
Since 2008, the parish of St. Anna of Novgorod has been operating in Trondheim. The priest Alexander Volokhan is in charge of the church. Information about the sources of financing for the construction is not available.
Such locations of temples near strategic, diplomatic, and industrial sites create the basis for various interpretations and assumptions about the additional roles they may have played.
Distance of government and military facilities near the ROC parish:
Submarine bunker – 925 m
Air Force Academy – 1291 m
Military base – 1292 m
Hurtigruten Port, Trondheim – 1193 m
Consulate of Finland – 1411 m
Consulate General of the Republic of Poland – 515 m
Honorary Consulate of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Trondheim – 810 m
Consulate of Sweden named after Jan Kaare Tapper – 655 m
Royal Consulate of Denmark – 863 m
Consulate of the Netherlands – 577 m
Honorary Consul of Estonia in Trondheim – 752 m
Honorary Vice-Consulate of Spain in Trondheim – 753 m
Events Office, Department of Culture, Trondheim Municipality – 402 m
Trøndelag County Council, Trondheim – 894 m
The parish of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker also operates. The church dates back to 1938. Nearby are the following objects:
In 2000, the chapel of Blessed Xenia of Petersburg was built. Nearby are the port of Vuosaari, the Honorary Consulate of Jordan and the Nordsjö Power Plant.
The city of Amersford. The church of the Spanish Cornelius the Centurion, Bishop of Caesarea Palestine, built in 1981. The rector is Archpriest Stefan Bakker.
Nearby objects:
City of The Hague. The Monastery of the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, built in 1972, is closed as of December 2022. Its location has attracted considerable attention due to its proximity to 29 government facilities, the Federation of European Defense Technology Associations (407 meters), an army facility (2041 meters), the outer harbor (3529 meters), and the Uniper City power plant (1883 meters).
City of Rotterdam. Rotterdam has a church dedicated to the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky, built in 2004. Its abbot since 2017 is Priest Anatoly Babiuk, who has refrained from commenting on the subject since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The church was built by the Baltic Construction Company, and its consecration was conducted by Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyaev).
The temple is located close to 9 government buildings, including the Rotterdam Prosecutor’s Office (1,142 meters). There are also other strategically important buildings nearby, which increases interest in the role of this religious site in the context of its location.
This proximity of Russian religious sites to government institutions raises concerns and questions about their potential use in a broader geopolitical context.
In Rotterdam, there is also a temple dedicated to the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Skoroposlushnitsa” since 1959. Nearby are the following buildings:
Prague: In Prague, the Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius, which belongs to the Michalovce-Košice diocese of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, was partly financed by the Russian state-owned company Gazprom Neft. Archbishop Christopher of Prague even awarded an advisor to the chairman of the board of this company for helping the church.
Olomouc: The Cathedral of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Gorazd of Ohrid in Olomouc has been operating since 1939. The nearest strategic facility is 70 km away, an ammunition depot, where a sabotage organized by a group of the Russian GRU took place in 2014. Two explosions, which occurred in October and December 2014, caused the death of two people, significant damage and the evacuation of nearby settlements. The explosions affected warehouses with large amounts of ammunition, which were rented by the company Imex.
Vrbetice: The Chapel of the Life-Giving Trinity in the town of Vrbetice is located 72 km from this ammunition depot. The complex history of the region and the proximity of Russian religious sites to strategic locations create additional risks.
The Russian Orthodox Church is known for its ties to Russian state structures, including the security services. The construction of ROC churches near important strategic sites in Europe appears to be part of a well-thought-out system. Through these sites, Russia can use religious cover for espionage activities, collecting intelligence that can be used both by Russia itself and transferred to third countries, such as China, Iran or North Korea.
This situation is a serious threat to European security, which requires international coordination to strengthen monitoring and prevent such actions. Western countries need to understand more deeply that Russia can hide hostile intelligence under the religious facade, which calls into question the security of critical infrastructure.
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