Introduction: Policing Religion in the Soviet Union

In February 2023, Swiss media and global news agencies reported a sensational revelation: Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a staunch supporter of President Vladimir Putin, allegedly served as a KGB agent under the codename agent “Mikhailov.”1 Declassified documents from the Swiss Federal Archives in Bern, spanning from 1969 to 1989, were cited as evidence. Despite being mentioned thirty-seven times, the information lacked specific details about his actual service as a secret agent; yet the news gained traction. Journalists referred to Russian historians and other journalists who had previously written about agent “Mikhailov.” This incident underscores the tendency of Cold War-era spy stories to feature loud, sensational headlines, direct accusations lacking substantial historical evidence, and investigations conducted by non-professional historians. The pattern is particularly sensitive within narratives involving secret police agents and informers in religious communities, sparking numerous controversies across the former socialist bloc. Religious activities, viewed as inherently hostile to socialist ideals, were closely monitored by security agencies throughout the entirety of the Soviet era. Most of these agents were recruited from within religious communities, functioning as insider agents. It is evident that religious life was one of the social areas most significantly impacted by secret police surveillance and agent infiltration. Recently declassified KGB archives in several post-Soviet countries have brought to light that there was not a single religious group that escaped the attention or infiltration of the secret police (the isolationism and nonconformism of communities did not shield them from agent infiltration). This historical phenomenon has had long-term consequences for the religious landscape, leaving an indelible mark on the trust within these communities and shaping the dynamics of church–state relations in the post-Soviet era.