From reports of the 4th department of the 5th directorate of the KGB of the USSR: Fighters of the invisible front — priests of registered churches serving the interests of godless authorities. A vivid example is Patriarch V.M. Gundyaev. Their name was: 'Legion'

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Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev (Patriarch Kirill) in his youth

Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev was born on November 20, 1946, in Leningrad, into the family of a priest and a schoolteacher of German. After graduating from secondary school, he entered the Leningrad Theological Seminary in 1965, then the Leningrad Theological Academy, which he was due to complete in 1973 but unexpectedly finished externally in 1970. On September 12, 1971, the 24‑year‑old young man was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and sent to Geneva as the representative of the Moscow Patriarchate to the World Council of Churches. He worked in this post in Geneva until December 1974.

From the reports of the 4th Department of the 5th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR:
1972, February
Agents “Svyatoslav” and “Mikhailov” travelled to New Zealand and Australia for meetings of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches.

1972, May
A Soviet citizen from among the authorities of the Russian Orthodox Church, “Krylov”, was recruited as an agent of the KGB.

1973, January
Agents “Magistr” and “Mikhailov” were sent to Thailand and India to take part in the work of the WCC. These agents exerted a beneficial influence on the work of the Council and submitted materials of operational interest on the situation in the WCC and characterizing data on individual figures.
Agent “Kuznetsov” was sent to Prague to participate in the work of the Christian Peace Conference, from whom information of operational interest was obtained.

1973, February
The General Secretary of the WCC, Philip Potter, was in the USSR as a guest of the Moscow Patriarchate, and a beneficial influence was exerted on him through agents “Svyatoslav”, “Adamant”, “Mikhailov”, and “Ostrovsky”. Information of operational interest was obtained.

1973, May
With counterintelligence assignments abroad were sent: to England and Switzerland – agents “Nesterov” and “Akademik”, to France – “Peresvet”, to the FRG – agent “Moskvich”, to the PPR – “Zazyulya”. The agents participated in the work of various commissions of the WCC and the Christian Peace Conference, exerting a politically beneficial influence.

From December 1975, V.M. Gundyaev was a member of the Central Committee and Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches, from 1975 a member of the commission “Faith and Order” of the World Council of Churches, from March 3, 1976, a member of the Synodal Commission on Christian Unity and Inter‑Church Relations. From November 1976 to October 1978, V.M. Gundyaev was deputy to the Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe. In 1978, he was appointed deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations. He worked in this position until the end of 1983.

From the reports of the 4th Department of the 5th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR:
1977, January
Agent “Kuznetsov” of the 4th Department of the 5th Directorate travelled to Czechoslovakia. Agents “Adamant”, “Nikolsky”, “Mikhail” were sent to India as part of a delegation led by Patriarch Pimen.

1980, January
Agent “Abbat” travelled to Sweden via the Union of Soviet Friendship Societies with a counter‑propaganda assignment.

1980, March
Agents “Abbat” and “Markov” were sent to a meeting of WAAC (the international organization of church journalists). The information received from them about the situation in WAAC and concerning Hessler, an object of our operational interest, is of interest to the KGB.

Agent “Abbat” travelled to England for the enthronement of the head of the Anglican Church.

1980, May
Agents “Vadim” and “Voronov” travelled to the HPR. Agent “Georgiev” of the KGB Directorate for the Leningrad Region returned from Switzerland after a meeting of the youth commission of the World Council of Churches.
Agent “Remark” went on a short‑term mission to the FRG. The agent was tasked with studying processes taking place in international circles, as well as studying the behaviour of agent “Markov” of the KGB Directorate for the Leningrad Region.

1980, June
Agent “Abbat” was routed to France. Agent “Abbat” travelled to the USA via the Soviet Peace Committee.

1980, September
In order to expose the mystification of public opinion in the West concerning the criminal case against Yakunin, agent “Yesaulenko” gave an interview to a TASS correspondent, which was disseminated abroad by the mass media.

1980, November
Agent “Abbat” was sent to the FRG for the Assembly of the Ecumenical Information Centre in Europe.

1980, December
Agents “Abbat” and “Remark” returned from a trip to the FRG. Through the agents, a positive influence was exerted on believers in terms of exposing slanderous fabrications about the situation of believers in the USSR.

From the report of the deputy head of the 4th Department of the 5th Directorate of the KGB, Colonel N.N. Romanov, on work in 1982:
The most significant results are as follows:
Through the leading agent network of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Georgian and Armenian churches are firmly maintained in positions of loyalty and active support for the peace‑loving policy of the Soviet state.
In accordance with the plan of active measures against the deployment of medium‑range missiles in Europe, developed pursuant to the resolutions of the CPSU Central Committee on this issue and approved by the leadership of the KGB of the USSR on 28.08.1981, as well as within the framework of a joint plan with the “A” Service of the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR to exert an influence beneficial to the Soviet Union on clerical circles in the West, a set of actions was carried out through the leading KGB agents “Abbat”, “Antonov”, “Kuznetsov”, “Nesterovich” and others via religious channels to influence the socio‑political circles of Western European countries. Through agent capabilities in the Russian Orthodox Church and friends, information was also conveyed to the Pope that his “excessive” enthusiasm for the Uniate issue could only damage relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church.
During 1982, 1809 meetings were held, and 704 reports were received.

1983, February
Agents “Mikhailov” and “Konstantin” were sent to Switzerland to participate in events for the preparation of the WCC assembly.

April 1983 Through agents “Ostrovsky” and “Kuznetsov”, an open letter from Patriarch Pimen to US President Reagan was prepared. The letter was published in the New York Times, reprinted in Izvestia on April 11, 1983, and sent to friends for publication in their newspapers.

May 1983 A delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church headed by Patriarch Pimen traveled to the People’s Republic of Bulgaria for the jubilee celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the patriarchate of the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria. The delegation included KGB agents “Ostrovsky”, “Nikolsky”, “Ognev”, “Sergeev”, and an operational officer of the active reserve under the appropriate cover of a patriarchate staff member. Agents “Abbat”, “I. Sergeeva”, and “T.V.” traveled to Ireland.

July 1983 Forty-seven KGB agents, drawn from religious authorities, clergy, and technical personnel, were sent to Vancouver (Canada) for the 6th General Assembly of the WCC as part of a religious delegation of the USSR.

October 1983 At the invitation of the Denmark–USSR Friendship Society, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church traveled to Denmark; it included agents “Abbat” and “Grigory”. They were tasked with defending the peace-loving policy of the Soviet state and exposing the fabrications of Western propaganda about the situation of religions and believers in the USSR. A delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church traveled to the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Christian Peace Conference (CPC); it included KGB agents “Antonov”, “Vadim”, and “Kuznetsov”. With their active participation, a declaration was drafted for the 25th anniversary of the CPC that, on the whole, reflected the interests of our state. From October 3 to 8, 1983, a meeting of members of the Ecumenical Circle for Information in Europe (an organization uniting Christian publicists) took place in Moscow, with 23 foreign participants. Through agents “Abbat” and “Grigory”, a politically beneficial influence was exerted on the foreigners.

September–October 1983 In Moscow, from September 28 to October 3, 1983, a meeting of representatives of the church press was held at the Publishing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, with 12 foreign participants. Issues of information exchange were discussed. Through agents “Abbat” and “Grigory”, a politically beneficial influence was exerted on the foreigners. A meeting of the CPC Working Committee on Disarmament took place in Moscow. In order to exert a positive influence, secure decisions advantageous to us, and study individual delegates, 9 KGB agents, including “Antonov”, “Ostrovsky”, “Kuznetsov”, and “Vadim”, were dispatched to take part in the meeting. The meeting was successful, and the final documents serve the interests of our state.

On November 13, 1989, V.M. Gundyaev was appointed Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. He served in this position until his election as Patriarch on January 27, 2009.

From the report of the head of the 4th Department of the 5th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR, Colonel V.I. Timoshevsky, for 1989: In accordance with the plan approved by the leadership of the KGB of the USSR, agent-operational and organizational measures were carried out to ensure state security during the preparation and holding of events of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Moscow, in which more than 500 foreign religious figures took part. As a result of the measures implemented, the WCC Executive Committee and Central Committee adopted public statements (8) and messages (3) in line with the political course of the socialist countries. Agent and operational-technical measures were taken against 29 targets of operational interest to the KGB, and physical surveillance was conducted on 9 targets. Through agents, a positive influence was exerted on the foreigners; additional identifying and characterizing data were obtained, as well as information about their political views and standing in their own country. Numerous interviews advantageous to us were obtained. To resolve organizational and operational issues, meetings (2) of KGB operational groups were held.

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