Artemiy Vladimirov – archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church, preacher

Archpriest Artemiy Vladimirov/ artvladimirov.ru

Artemiy Vladimirov – archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), writer, preacher, and professor. Head of the Department of Homiletics of Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox University, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Orthodox Culture of the Academy of Strategic Missile Forces.

In 2015, he stated that the church could not stay out of politics these days.

In 2021, he called for more careful reading of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s speeches and listening to his interviews.

He accused the Western countries of the fact that they allegedly “can turn the planet into chaos.” According to him, the West “gave birth to ISIS and neo-fascism.”

*The material was created in cooperation with the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

Main statements

1. He stated that the Russian Federation allegedly started the war to “protect Donbas” (February 26, 2022)

According to him, Donbas “survived only thanks to the humanitarian aid sent there by Russia” for eight years. He stated that allegedly “the people of Bandera killed or imprisoned everyone who did not want to stand in solidarity with neo-fascism.”

2. He stated that Ukrainians allegedly needed to “return their lost historical self-awareness” (February 27, 2022)

He called the Ukrainians “little Russians” and said that Russia, by unleashing a war, “gives them the opportunity to live with the Russian Federation in friendship and love.” He said that the aggressor country Russia was destroying military facilities, warehouses and NATO bases in Ukraine. He cynically stated that allegedly the Russian occupiers during hostilities “protect not only civilians but also Ukrainian servicemen”.

3. He said that Russia was supposedly freeing Europe from the fascist plague (February 27, 2022)

4. He stated that the Russian Federation was allegedly carrying out “demilitarization and denazification” in Ukraine (March 6, 2022)

In his sermon in the church, he said that Ukraine “needs to be cleansed of fascists.” He said that Ukrainians did not understand that “there is no invasion” because they were intoxicated by propaganda. He called the war against Ukraine “the beginning of the defascism of Europe.”