Kirill Govorun commented on his inclusion in the list of foreign agents by the Russian Ministry of Justice

Kirill Govorun, a former cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church who has been defrocked, has commented on his inclusion in the list of foreign agents by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. The ex-archimandrite is convinced that his designation as a foreign agent is linked to his criticism of the Russian government and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. He spoke about this in a comment to the publication LB.ua.

«There is a popular stereotype that only Russian citizens are included in this register. In fact, this is not the case: a number of foreigners are also included. The main criterion for inclusion in the register is influence on the Russian public. For me personally, this is recognition that I have such influence and that I have been systematically trying to create Ukrainian or pro-Ukrainian narratives for Russians for many years,» — he said.

According to Govorun, his “numerous” Telegram channel with 3,500 subscribers consists mainly of Russians and is one of the main ways to convey “anti-Putin narratives” to the public and fight for Ukraine’s rights.

«I try to articulate Ukrainian anti-Putin narratives and have a large audience there, mainly Russians. I even see representatives of the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate and some Kremlin officials among my subscribers. Roskomnadzor’s decision directly refers to my Telegram channel. My many years of attempts to create parallel narratives, alternative to those of the Kremlin, both about Ukraine and about the war, have obviously become the reason for my inclusion in the register,» — he added.

Earlier, we reported that Kirill Govorun had been added to the list of foreign agents in the Russian Federation. The relevant order was published by the Russian Ministry of Justice.