The Svyatoslav Files: Metropolitan Nikodim and the KGB

Felix Corley

©Felix Corley/2018

In our state, such a mechanism in an appropriate form has not been worked out, therefore it is
necessary to think seriously about the legal procedure for access to archives, the sooner the better.
At the same time it is important to display the greatest concern for our helpers. They must be
absolutely certain that they will not find themselves in an awkward position thanks to our fault, and
that concern for them - and for their families - is our duty.

KGB Chair Vladimir Kryuchkov answers question on access to KGB archives, at meeting of secretaries
of party organisations of central KGB, 15 April 1989
Sbornik KGB SSSR, No. 133, 1989, p. 18

KGB material about one of the most prominent Russian Orthodox bishops of the 1960s and
1970s, Metropolitan Nikodim of Leningrad, reveal the extent of his contacts with it,
particularly connected with his numerous foreign travels. The KGB must have recruited
Nikodim as an agent before his 1956 transfer to work in the Russian spiritual mission in
Jerusalem, which was heavily used by the KGB.

The KGB itself in April 1960 proposed the removal of Nikodim’s predecessor and his
appointment to the key post of head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department of external
church relations when he was just 30. The Church’s holy synod duly approved Archimandrite
Nikodim in the new role two months later. This propelled him to prominence in international
bodies, particularly the World Council of Churches which the Russian Orthodox Church
joined in 1961.

Although most of the available KGB documents refer to him only as ‘Svyatoslav’ (it was very
unusual in internal KGB documents for any person, whether agent or victim, to be referred
to by name before the late 1980s), it is clear that the codename relates to Nikodim, born
Boris Georgiyevich Rotov on 15 October 1929. Only when the KGB was writing to outside
agencies, like the Central Committee, or a prominent individual was identified in relation to
other agents, did KGB internal documents identify them by name.

Documents from the KGB First Chief Directorate archive in Moscow, noted by the then
archivist Vasiliy Mitrokhin before his 1984 retirement, reveal that the KGB saw Nikodim in
1969 as one of the top four ‘influential figures’ in the Russian Orthodox Church designated
to carry out the KGB aim to disrupt the Vatican’s activity by causing discord among its
various agencies.

(Mitrokhin in one note from 1971 (Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Vasiliy Mitrokhin,
MITN, 1/7, p. 19) identified agent ‘Adamant’ as Nikodim. However, I believe he – or the
document on which he based this – was mistaken. ‘Adamant’ was Yuvenaly Poyarkov. The
 THE SVYATOSLAV FILES: METROPOLITAN NIKODIM AND THE KGB/Felix Corley

fact that agents ‘Svyatoslav’ and ‘Adamant’ both appear in the same document – as when
they travelled to Britain in 1969 as part of the same delegation - means they must be
different people.)

Other documents from the central KGB archives in Moscow (now held by one of the KGB’s
successors, the FSB) reveal further tasks Nikodim was assigned as an agent, especially
promoting Soviet positions and candidates in the WCC and other international bodies. These
documents - which were produced by the 4th department of the KGB Fifth Directorate (the
department renamed on 25 July 1967 that controlled religious affairs) - were seen by a
number of researchers after the archives were briefly opened in the wake of the failed
August 1991 coup, but access was then closed again after the Russian Orthodox leadership
protested about the extent of the revelations. Unfortunately, researchers did not reveal the
full contents of each report, confining themselves to brief and tantalising extracts from the
titles and text of the reports.

Mitrokhin’s note of a September 1978 report deals with agent “Vladimir”, Fr Lev Tserpitsky
(Nikodim’s former personal secretary), who was also part of the Russian Orthodox
delegation at the Vatican when Nikodim suffered a heart attack and died almost in the arms
of Pope John Paul I. Nikodim’s sudden death at the age of just 48 cut short an energetic if
controversial church career that saw him travel widely, from the countries of the Eastern
bloc to the United States to Britain to Australia and New Zealand. Did the KGB miss the
insights Nikodim provided on the situations and people he encountered?

All senior clerical appointments in the Soviet era were made by the KGB and mediated
through the government's Council for Religious Affairs (the public face of the 4th
department of the KGB Fifth Directorate) - and many junior appointments besides.
Nikodim’s collaboration was nothing exceptional - almost all senior leaders of all officially-
recognised religious faiths - including the Catholics, Baptists, Adventists, Georgian Orthodox,
Armenian Church, Muslims and Buddhists - were recruited KGB agents.

Although in public the KGB never acknowledged its role in controlling religious affairs in the
Soviet Union, in private it made no secret of it. The KGB leadership approved a briefing
paper No. 48s ‘On the use by the organs of the KGB of the possibilities of the Russian
Orthodox Church in counter-espionage measures within the country and abroad’ on 28 July
1970. In 1982 the 4th department of the KGB Fifth Directorate boasted that through ‘leading
agents, the ROC, Georgian and Armenian Churches hold firmly to positions of loyalty’ to the
Soviet state.

THE SVYATOSLAV FILES

The following are all the known references to Metropolitan Nikodim (KGB codename Svyatoslav) in
publicly-available KGB materials:

16 April 1960

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‘Note to the CC [Central Committee] of the CPSU by the chairman of the KGB of the USSR A. N.
Shelepin and the chairman of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church V. A.
Kuroyedov
[…]
… the State Security Committee [KGB] proposes to withdraw Metropolitan Nikolai [Yarushevich]
from participation in the work of the World Council of Churches and the Soviet Committee for the
defence of peace and remove him from leadership activity in the Moscow patriarchate.
[…]
The KGB considers it expedient to appoint as chairman of the [Moscow Patriarchate] department for
external church relations Archimandrite Nikodim Rotov, and to promote him as representative of
the Russian Orthodox Church for participation in the activity of the World Council of Churches and
the Soviet Committee for the defence of peace.
[…]
Chair of the KGB
A. [Aleksandr Nikolayevich] Shelepin
Chair of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church attached to the USSR Council of
Ministers
V. [Vladimir Alekseyevich] Kuroyedov’

State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF), f. 6991, op. 1, d. 1839, pp. 27-33

1967
‘Report on the work of the 4th department of the 5th directorate of the KGB attached to the USSR CM
for 1967
[..]
At the time of his visit to the island of CRETE for the meeting of the WCC, agent “Svyatoslav”, one of
the leaders of the ROC, was instructed to make a stop-over in Rome and during meetings with high-
ranking bureaucrats in the Vatican to express his concern about the increase in anti-Soviet
propaganda on the part of foreign religious centres.
[…]
At meetings of the Executive Committee and CC of the WCC in September of this year on the island
of Crete, agents “Svyatoslav”, “Voronov” [Bishop Vladimir Kotlyarov], “Antonov” [Archbishop Filaret
Denisenko] and others condemned the aggressive activity of the USA in Vietnam and Israel in the
Middle East. The delegation of the ROC voted against resolutions on Vietnam and the Middle East
put forward by representatives of Western Churches and demanded the condemnation of the
position of blacks in the USA.’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 14, No. 529, d. A-63, p. 42

January 1969
‘To the USA for participation in the work of the Executive Committee of the World Council of
Churches went agent “Svyatoslav”.’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 16, No. 477, V110, t. 1, p. 10

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February 1969
‘As part of the delegation of the ROC the agents “Svyatoslav”, “Antonov” and “Kuznetsov” [Aleksey
Buyevsky] travelled to Poland to take part in the work of the international religious organisation the
“Christian Peace Conference” with counter-intelligence and intelligence tasks. They presented
materials on the political situation in this organisation in connection with events in the CSSR [the
August 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia].’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 16, No. 477, V110, t. 1, p. 32

February 1969
‘Agent “Svyatoslav”, who returned from his visit to the USA, provided information on the activity of
the World Council of Churches and the overseas church organisation in opposition to the ROC.’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 16, No. 477, V110, t. 1, p. 32

4 April 1969
Measures of the KGB to strengthen the struggle with the subversive activity of the Vatican and the
Uniates on the territory of the USSR 1969-70
(signed by KGB chairman Yuri Andropov)

[..]
“Drozdov” [Aleksi Ridiger], “Svyatoslav”, “Adamant” [Bishop Yuvenaly Poyarkov] and “Nesterov”
were among “influential figures” in the Russian Orthodox Church given the task of sowing discord
among Vatican agencies, including the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Secretariat for
Promoting Christian Unity, and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Vasiliy Mitrokhin, MITN, 2/1, p. 3

May 1969
‘Went abroad on our assignments:
- agent “Svyatoslav” to Switzerland for a session of the WCC Committee
- agents “Svyatoslav”, “Ostrovsky” [Archbishop Filaret Vakhromeev], “Solovyov”, “Pushkin”,
“Zelenogorsky” to Bulgaria to all the Orthodox celebrations on the occasion of the 1,100th
anniversary of the birth [death] of the founder of Slavic writing, Cyril.’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 16, No. 477, V110, t. 1, p. 110

June 1969
‘Via our possibilities in the Moscow Patriarchate, the metropolitan of the Bulgarian Orthodox church
in the USA Andrei [Andrew Petkov] was invited to the USSR. Through agents “Adamant”,
“Vinogradov” and “Svyatoslav”, positive ideological influence was exerted.’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 16, No. 477, V110, t. 1, p. 146

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August 1969
‘The agents “Svyatoslav”, “Adamant”, “Altar”, “Magistr” [Archbishop Antoni Melnikov], “Roshchin”
and “Zemnogorsky” travelled to England to take part in the work of the CC of the World Council of
Churches. The agents were able to counter hostile activity and to promote agent “Kuznetsov” to a
leading post in the WCC.’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 16, No. 477, V110, t. 1, p. 204

October 1969
‘As part of the delegation of the ROC the agents “Svyatoslav”, “Antonov” and “Kuznetsov” travelled
to the meeting of the working committee of the PCPC [Prague Christian Peace Conference] in the
GDR. The task was given to the agents of compromising in his post the general secretary of the PCPC
[Dr Jaroslav] Ondra (citizen of the CSSR, at the time of the events in that country he came out with
anti-Soviet statements) and to achieve his removal from the post.’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 16, por. No. 477, d. V110, t. 1, p. 281

August 1970
‘The agent “Svyatoslav” travelled to the USA with the task of studying the processes within the
American orthodox church in connection to the granting to it of autocephaly [in April 1970] and
within the émigré Karlovcian church [Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], in relation to which
measures to compromise it as an anti-soviet centre are underway.
With the aim of countering hostile propaganda on the position of the churches in the USSR
“Svyatoslav” held a series of press conferences, had meetings with a number of leading religious
figures in the USA and in addition undertook a visit to the UN general secretary U Thant.’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 17, por. No. 602, d. G172, t. 1, p. 288

February 1972
‘To New Zealand and Australia went the agents “Svyatoslav” and “Mikhailov” [Archimandrite Kirill
Gundyaev] to the meeting of the WCC CC [World Council of Churches Central Committee].’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 19, por. No. 273, d. E62, p. 90

April 1972
‘PLAN of cooperation and working collaboration in counterintelligence work between the Fifth
Directorate of the Committee for State Security [KGB] of the Council of Ministers of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics and the Sixth Directorate of the Interior Ministry of the People’s Republic
of Bulgaria [IM PRB] for 1972-4

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[…]

On cultivation of church organisations:

The main direction in work on this line is to actively counter the striving of foreign religious centres
to the ideological and organisational consolidation of antisocialist clerical organisations and to use
the Russian and Bulgarian orthodox churches for the aim of ideological subversion.
For this purpose:
- with the aim of carrying out the stated task of the continued cultivation of relevant institutes and
leaders of the Vatican, to use the possibilities of “Borisov”, “Stoyanov” and Petrov” (PRB IM),
“Syatoslav”, “Nesterov” [apparently “Nesterovich”], “Ostrovsky”, “Adamant” [Metropolitan Yuvenaly
Poyarkov] and “Vidmantas” [a Lithuanian who had studied at Gregorian University, Rome] (USSR
KGB) and other agents from among authoritative religious persons;
[…]
Head of the Fifth Directorate of the Committee for State Security [KGB] of the Council of Ministers of
the Soviet Union
Major-General F. [Filipp Denisovich] Bobkov

Head of the Sixth Directorate of the Interior Ministry of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria
Major-General P. [Petar] Stoyanov

The Committee for Disclosing the Documents and Announcing Affiliation of Bulgarian Citizens to the
State Security and Intelligence Services of the Bulgarian National Army, Interior Ministry files, p.f. 1,
op. 10, a.e. 1282, pp. 1-13

February 1973
‘Visiting the USSR as a guest of the Moscow Patriarchate was the general secretary of the WCC Philip
Potter, on whom via the agents “Svyatoslav”, “Adamant”, “Mikhailov” and “Ostrovsky” was exerted
a favourable … influence. Information on the activity of the WCC having an operational interest was
received.
Head of the 4th dept of the 5th directorate of the KGB attached to the USSR CM
Lieutenant-colonel [Yevgeni Dmitrievich] Kubyshkin’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 20, por. No. 304, d. Zh64, pp. 101-2

March 1973
‘The meeting of the Christian peace conference took place in Moscow with the participation of
leading social and religious figures. […] In the work of this conference the agents of the organs of the
KGB “Svyatoslav”, “Kuznetsov”, “Afanasyev” and “Yesaulenko” [Fr Iosif Pustoutov] (all 4th
department [agents]) took part.’

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 20, por. No. 304, d. Zh64, p. 158

May 1973

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‘Through the agent possibilities in the Moscow patriarchate (agents “Svyatoslav”, “Adamant”,
“Nikitin” and others) it has been possible to return to the state treasures worth millions of roubles,
carried off by the Germans during the Patriotic war [World War II] and kept in the FRG.
Head of the 4th department of the 5th directorate of the KGB attached to the USSR CM, lieutenant-
colonel [Yevgeni Dmitrievich] Kubyshkin

FSB Central Archive, f. 5, op. 20, por. No. 304, d. Zh64, p. 307

1975
“Vladimir” – Nikolai Lvovich [Fr Lev] Tserpitsky, born 1947 Vitebsk [1946, Zaluzhe], Belorussian,
monk, with higher theological education, candidate [doctoral degree] of theological studies. Aide to
the inspector of the Leningrad theological academy.
Personal secretary of Metropolitan Nikodim, makes use of his position.
“Vladimir” was recruited in 1971.
Head of the 4th dept of the 5th directorate of the KGB attached to the USSR CM
Colonel [Vladimir Vasilievich] Fitsev

Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Vasiliy Mitrokhin, MITN, 2/1, p. 19

September 1978
“Vladimir” – N. L. Tserpitsky
KGB agent
In September 1978 was part of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox church to the Vatican,
headed by Metropolitan Nikodim. The delegation was being received by Pope John Paul I.
Metropolitan Nikodim died unexpectedly in Italy.

Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Vasiliy Mitrokhin, MITN, 2/1, p. 8