The Telegraph: Russia is employing nuns in European countries to spy and spread propaganda

The Estonian government believes the Kremlin has involved the nuns of the Pühtitsa Monastery in the Baltic region in a campaign to spread Russian propaganda against Europe, The Telegraph has confirmed.

Despite an official statement of "detachment from worldly affairs", the monastery is actively promoting a narrative that the West is threatening the freedom of Orthodox believers. This comes amid a standoff over a new law requiring the monastery to sever ties with Patriarch Kirill and the Moscow Patriarchate," the publication writes.

The monastery, according to Estonian authorities, has become a participant in Russia's "information war", trying to portray Western authorities as aggressors and oppressors of religious citizens.

Estonia's interior minister told The Telegraph:

"This monastery is not just a religious institution, but a symbol of the ideology of the 'Russian World' .... combining religion, nationalism and imperial nostalgia," he said.

Abbess Filaret Kalatshova (appointed by Patriarch Kirill) denied the accusations, saying that the nuns lead only a life of prayer and are not responsible for Moscow's statements.

It should be noted that Estonia passed an amendment banning religious organisations from maintaining ties with those who "support or finance a violent change in the independence of the Republic of Estonia". The Moscow Patriarchate falls under this definition. The monastery was asked to move under the jurisdiction of Constantinople. The monastery said this would "violate canonical ties with the Russian Orthodox Church."

Estonia views the activity of the Pyukhtitsa Monastery as part of Russia's hybrid strategy - a structured campaign of disinformation and ideological influence on public opinion.

The Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) has about 275 parishes in the "far abroad". At the same time, in Western Europe it includes about 67 parishes and monasteries. In Germany there are about 45 parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church, in Great Britain about 17 parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church.