A picturesque wooden church nestled in the Swedish woods near Västerås has become the epicenter of a growing national security scandal. The Russian Orthodox Church of Our Lady of Kazan, inaugurated in November 2023, is being accused by Swedish authorities and experts of serving as a front for Russian intelligence operations, under the guise of faith and religious diplomacy.

A Church with a Strategic View

Hidden behind fences, signs warning of surveillance cameras, and "beware of dog" placards, the church is located just 300 meters from the strategically significant Västerås airport—an airfield used by NATO for military exercises. The church’s dome, which rises 22 meters high—twelve more than what was approved in the original building permit—has raised red flags. Experts suggest the added height could potentially be used for surveillance purposes.

“This is not a coincidence,” said Patrik Oksanen, a national security expert. “The location, the unusual design elements, the tight security—it all fits a pattern we’ve seen in other parts of Europe where religious institutions are co-opted by Moscow for espionage.”

Classified as a Security Threat

In December 2023, the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) formally classified the Russian Orthodox Church and its representatives as a threat to national security. “We view the church as a platform for intelligence gathering and influence operations,” Säpo spokesperson Gabriel Wernstedt said.

In response, Sweden’s Agency for Support to Religious Communities suspended state funding to the church, citing failure to meet democratic standards—marking the first such action taken against a religious organization in the country.

Rosatom’s Involvement and Kremlin Oversight

The church's construction cost 35 million SEK (around €3.2 million), funded by Rosatom through a cultural and heritage foundation. The use of a major Russian state corporation to finance a religious building abroad is viewed by security experts as indicative of Kremlin oversight.

At its inauguration, figures close to the Russian government and intelligence community were present. Among them was Pavel Makarenko, the church’s priest and a former import-export businessman investigated by Swedish tax authorities for suspicious financial activities. During the event, Makarenko was awarded a medal by the SVR—Russia’s foreign intelligence agency—personally signed by its director, Sergey Naryshkin.

A Wider Pattern: Churches as Kremlin Outposts

The case of Västerås is not isolated. In Stockholm, the oldest Russian Orthodox church in Sweden faced a similar takeover attempt by a pro-Moscow faction. A coordinated effort involving sudden new membership applications was interpreted as an attempt to seize control of the church’s governing board. The church’s priest, who had aligned it with the Bulgarian Patriarchate instead of Moscow due to ideological disagreements, blocked the move.

Another case involved a Russian Orthodox congregation occupying a church in Stockholm leased from a Protestant group, changing the locks and installing surveillance systems before being legally evicted.

The pattern suggests a broader strategy: secure control over strategically placed religious buildings, especially those near critical infrastructure such as transportation routes, embassies, or military facilities.

Global Concerns: Not Just Sweden

This issue extends beyond Swedish borders. In Bulgaria, the Kremlin’s leading Orthodox representative was expelled in 2023 over espionage allegations. The U.S. FBI issued warnings the same year about Russian attempts to recruit informants through Orthodox parishes.

Vladimir Liparteliani, a Russian affairs scholar at Durham University, emphasizes that the Russian Orthodox Church should not be viewed as a purely spiritual institution. “It is structurally and historically tied to the Russian state. The patriarch himself, Kirill, was a former KGB agent. There is no separating church from state in this case.”

A Difficult Dilemma for Democracies

Despite the alarming signs, Swedish authorities tread carefully. Most parishioners are believed to be ordinary believers uninvolved in geopolitical maneuvering. “Sanctioning the church risks alienating innocent worshippers,” said Oksanen. “But ignoring the threat allows hostile actors to operate freely.”

The dilemma illustrates the difficulty of countering hybrid threats that weaponize the freedoms of liberal democracies—religious liberty, in this case—for political and military advantage.

Experts warn that unless a more assertive stance is taken, other nations could find themselves grappling with the same challenge: faith institutions that double as tools of foreign influence.