Gundyaev blessed Putin’s wars in Ichkeria, Syria, Georgia, and Ukraine—actions that caused a huge stir around the world—and thereby became complicit in the murders of Muslims and Christians
During a session of the Congress of People’s Deputies held in Warsaw from 27-29 June under the leadership of former Russian State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, one of the participants asked me, “How do you Tatars feel about Patriarch Kirill? After all, in Russia he is considered a saint, isn’t that right?”
I didn’t have the opportunity to answer this question during the session; only now have I found the time to outline my opinion in detail. How can he be a “saint”? Agent “Mikhailov”—the pseudonym he used—worked for the KGB. Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev is known to the world as Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) served in the 1990s, when he consolidated his position and amassed the fortune that ultimately allowed him to ascend to the patriarchal throne. Before assuming this position, his personal fortune, according to some experts, reached $4 billion. How can Gundyaev be considered a saint?
Gundyaev blessed Putin’s wars in Ichkeria, Syria, Georgia, and Ukraine—actions that caused a huge stir worldwide—and in doing so, he became complicit in the murders of Muslims and Christians. Under the leadership of Patriarch Kirill, Orthodox believers bless weapons, thereby imbuing them with enhanced lethal capabilities. However, the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” remains valid even in wartime. Russian weapons have already claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people—how many more will they kill? From a Christian perspective, such a blessing is unacceptable.
Here are the facts about how Gundyaev and Putin orchestrated a campaign to suppress Tatars in Tatarstan, targeting activists and government officials:
At the request of the young mothers, who were still in the maternity hospital, their parents attended a citywide meeting of the TPC and described in detail the appalling conditions in the institution. Three lawyers also participated in the discussion, unanimously presenting legal evidence of the unsanitary conditions and the insult to the religious feelings of Muslim women by the cleric’s actions. After lengthy discussions, a statement entitled “No to Christianisation!” was adopted and distributed to the media on behalf of the TPC citywide meeting. The statement included an episode about how the Russian Empire forcibly Christianised Tatars and other peoples for centuries, while simultaneously committing mass genocide against colonised peoples.
This manifesto, “No to Christianisation!” The letter reached Patriarch Kirill’s office, who shared it with his colleagues during a meeting. He stated that Rafis Kashapov, the chairman of the Tatarstan Orthodox Church, was waging a campaign against Orthodox Russians in Tatarstan and should be punished. The Moscow Patriarchate subsequently sent this letter to Putin, calling for action. Subsequently, Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev received instructions from Putin to initiate criminal proceedings against Rafis. Shaimiev forwarded this letter to Tatarstan Prosecutor Kafil Amirov, resulting in the initiation of a fabricated criminal case against my brother.Following the publication of the TOC manifesto, “No to Christianisation!” in the media, a heated confrontation between Orthodox Christians and Tatars erupted in Tatarstan. Kazan native Zaki Zainullin even called for the execution of a cleric who insulted Muslim women. He claimed that Russian colonisers in past centuries committed mass genocide—accompanied by forced baptism—and continue to carry out their vile plans against us, Tatars, to this day. Following this statement, the Orthodox priest and his family disappeared from the city for approximately six months.
My twin brother, Rafis, also received threats from Moscow: the leaders of three Russian neo-Nazi organisations threatened him with physical violence if he didn’t remove the letter “No to Christianisation!” from the internet. He also received similar warnings from the Naberezhnye Chelny prosecutor and the deputy head of the FSB for Tatarstan; they warned him that if he continued to insist on his position, he would face imprisonment.
During his confrontation with Russian Nazis and security forces, Rafis was twice bribed. The first time, representatives from the administration of Maternity Hospital No. 1 came to the TOC headquarters; they apologised to my brother, placed a bag containing seven or eight wads of dollars on the table, and offered him the money. Rafis replied, “You don’t need to apologise to me—it’s better to gather everyone you’ve offended, apologise to them, and give them this money as compensation for moral damages.” The second time, an oil company from Tatarstan offered him a large sum of money; he rejected this offer as well, declaring that honour, dignity, and principles are not for sale. Thus, Rafis was found guilty of inciting interfaith hatred and sentenced to a suspended sentence of eighteen months.
Following these events, Mintimer Shaimiev signed a decree concerning Tatarstan’s healthcare system; the document included a provision stating that religious leaders must provide services to patients on an individual basis—at the patients’ own request.
Many people ask us, the Kashapov brothers, if Putin knows about us. Of course he does; there was even an incident when Naberezhnye Chelny Mayor Rashid Khamadiev wrote a letter to Putin, claiming that the Kashapov brothers were inciting the population of Tatarstan to mass unrest against Moscow. This accusation served as the pretext for sending a “commission” from Moscow to the Republic of Tatarstan to deal with Tatar “extremists.”
When Rashid Khamadiev succeeded in carrying out his provocative plans with Putin, he organised an attack on the TOC headquarters on 29 May, 2002. As a result, several people—including Rafis—ended up in intensive care, and one of the victims, Rashit Khafizov, later died. This entire special operation was carried out under the supervision of the FSB: that morning, an FSB officer even accompanied Rafis from his home to the TOC headquarters. That same evening, all television channels—from republican ones to several Russian ones—unanimously trumpeted Rafis Kashapov’s alleged involvement in criminal showdowns over spheres of influence, claiming he had failed to reach an agreement with someone regarding market division or gasoline supplies. Of course, these scenarios were pre-staged by FSB agents, but not a word was said about the critical condition of the people in intensive care. An analysis of these events leads to the conclusion that as long as Putin remains in power, this crime will remain unsolved. Likewise, the murders of Alexei Navalny, Anna Politkovskaya, Boris Nemtsov, and other politicians will remain unsolved.
The situation in Putin’s Russia is this: if you support Putin’s policies, you’ll always be well-off and able to lead a rich, comfortable life—even if you’re a criminal; but if you oppose Putin’s criminal regime, you face fines, beatings, imprisonment, or even death.
https://abn.org.ua/en/analysis/gundyaev-blessed-putins-wars-in-ichkeria-syria-georgia-and-ukraine-actions-that-caused-a-huge-stir-around-the-world-and-thereby-became-complicit-in-the-murders-of-muslims-and-chri/
1. https://tatar-toz.blogspot.com/2026/07/gundyaev-blessed-putins-wars-in.html
2. https://x.com/Rafis_Kashapov/status/2077768955071021396
3. https://kashapov-rafis.livejournal.com/806739.html?newpost=1
4. https://t.me/tatarstan_independent/3399
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