Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

With Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, O’Hurley and Shadrina highlight the importance of religious values and mythos for understanding why the post-Soviet Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church advance a civilizational type of politics that seeks to forcefully expand its neo-imperial power both in Ukraine and elsewhere. Adding to a growing interdisciplinary conversation on the importance of religion in furthering post-Soviet Russian geo-politics, O’Hurley and Shadrina offer a crucial lens through which to focus on the entanglement of Christianity, political power, and globalized projects of moralization that result in war, continued violence, and policies of social control. In doing so, they reframe the geopolitical question of Russian power through the prism of Russian Orthodox metaphysical ideology, refracting key insights into questions of religious freedom/control and political authority. A timely and essential read given the growing embrace of Russia’s illiberal and imperial politics by reactionary politicians and communities around the globe.

Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, P.h.D.
Assistant Professor of Religion and Anthropology
Northeastern University

The Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine has long ceased to be merely a religious institution. Its activities have turned into an instrument of Russia’s hybrid influence, aimed at undermining spiritual unity, fostering loyalty to the aggressor state, and justifying the war. Under the guise of pastoral work, narratives of the ‘Russian World’ are spread — narratives that sow doubt about Ukrainian statehood and devalue the struggle for independence. At a time when Ukraine resists armed aggression, such structures are no longer a matter of faith, but a matter of security. Recognizing the role and influence of the Moscow Patriarchate is therefore critically important: this is not religious competition, but a threat to national security that requires a clear response from both the state and society.

The Moscow Patriarchate has become not merely a religious institution, but a significant factor in the course of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Its structure is exploited by the Kremlin as a channel of propaganda, a tool to legitimize aggression, and a means of justifying violence under the guise of spiritual values. By blessing the weapons and army of the occupying state, and by spreading the ideology of the ‘Russian World,’ it effectively takes part in the war against Ukraine. This influence undermines social unity, sows division within communities, and creates additional risks for national security. Recognizing this is key to protecting the state not only on the battlefield, but also in the spiritual domain.

Vladyslav Klochkov, Major General
Commander of the Directorate Moral and Psychological Support
Armed Forces of Ukraine (2021-2024)

Russia’s hybrid war is not fought solely with tanks or drones. The instrumentalization of the Orthodox Church as a psychological and propaganda weapon is part of a broader strategic offensive against Europe. Recognizing this invisible battlefield is as vital as defending our physical borders.

In Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing: The Russian Orthodox Church’s Threat to European Security and Democracy, Miceál O’Hurley and Oksana Shadrina clearly demonstrate that Russia’s threat to Europe goes far beyond the military or political sphere: it is also spiritual and cultural. By turning religion into an instrument of manipulation and subversion, the Kremlin seeks to erode the very foundations of European democracy and social cohesion. To ignore this reality would be to abdicate our own security.

Fernando Figueiredo, Colonel (Ret.)
Portuguese Army

Russia remains an imperialist state at its core, willing to sacrifice lives, resources, and freedoms to preserve its delusional vision of “greatness.” For centuries, the state has stood above the individual, demanding obedience while rewarding only the elite. In the XX century, this model started to break down – the USSR collapsed, and globalization opened Russia to world markets. However, its imperial mindset and endemic corruption never changed. Grand corruption corrodes every institution, stripping the country of the ability to modernize or innovate, precisely the requisites of dominance in the modern world. This weakness has left Russia unable to compete on equal terms, yet its desire for “great power” remained.

This contradiction has driven the Kremlin to develop a different arsenal — hybrid tactics designed to destabilize others rather than build strength at home. Cyberwarfare, propaganda, political interference, and corrosive investments all form part of this toolkit. Perhaps most insidious is the weaponization of religion. The Russian Orthodox Church has been reshaped into an instrument of state power, not a community of unity but a vehicle of influence, spreading ideology, justifying aggression, and reinforcing submission under the guise of faith.

This is the reality of Russia’s power today: a failed state with imperial delusions, too corrupt to modernize, surviving only through deception, violence, and the desecration of faith itself.

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing offers a unique opportunity to learn and understand another tool in Russia’s hybrid warfare arsenal.

Mariya Chukhnova, International Security Specialist, USA
& WFUWO Representative to the UNDGC/SOC

The Kremlin’s most dangerous weapon is not always a missile. Sometimes it wears a cassock.

In Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, Miceál O’Hurley and Oksana Shadrina show what many have seen for years: the Russian Orthodox Church functions as a Kremlin instrument, built for intelligence, influence, and political warfare. It launders Moscow’s ambitions in the language of faith and tradition.

Europe needs this book, illuminating how Moscow turns liturgy into cover for subversion and uses piety as a passport for power.
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine did not begin with tanks. It began in sanctuaries, where canon law was bent to deny a nation’s right to exist. The authors trace the arc from medieval imperial myths to today’s security threat, and the conclusion is blunt. Ignore these Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing and you invite a Trojan Horse through the cathedral doors. A vital read.

Jason Jay Smart
Security Consultant Specialising in Russia
& Special Correspondent, Kyiv Post

The timely book by Miceál O’Hurley and Oksana Shadrina reveals a truth long known to most Ukrainians: The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is not an ordinary religious organization, but a powerful instrument of the Russian security apparatus and propaganda machine.

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing argues that the ROC poses a threat to European security and democracy due to a dangerous combination of religious ideology and imperial ambition. The authors scrutinize the doctrines of “Russkiy Mir” (Russian World) and “Svyataya Rus” (Holy Rus), exposing them as a justification for Russian expansionism, historical revisionism, and an “eliminationist policy towards its neighbors’ identities.” The ROC’s role in spying, subversion, and justifying Russian aggression is exposed, including Patriarch Kirill’s declaration of the invasion of Ukraine as a “Holy War.”

The book is an essential read to those who would like to understand how Russia abuses religious freedom, a fundamental European value, as a cover for its covert malign activities and why ROC is an essential element of Russian war against Ukraine and wider Europe.

Yuliya Kazdobina, Senior Fellow
Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”

O’Hurley and Shadrina have performed a significant service by producing a fine work of research which despite the dense topics proves an enjoyable read. Their thesis that the weaponization of faith in service to the Russian State poses a threat to European security and social cohesion is supported by evidence detailed in numerous original source citations.

Defense, security and policy analysts should take notice of ‘Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing’ because it provides context for understanding how hybrid warfare, at times being carried out by clergy on behalf of the Russian Federation security apparatus, seeks to undermine neighboring states. The surprising number of Russian Orthodox Church clergy being expelled from states across Europe based on evidence of espionage and carrying out activities that undermine domestic security and democracy demonstrates the necessity of this work.

My experiences as an intelligence operator for several years, specifically in relation to Russian adversaries, tell me about the well-executed professional work that we find described in this book.  I highly recommend this book for politicians, policy makers, defense and security specialists, journalists and all people concerned about the future of the European experiment in democracy.

O’Hurley and Shadrina have given us a wake-up call. We should take it.

Knut Normann Egeland, Ph.D.
Operations Research and Force Protection (retired)

O’Hurley and Shadrina will guide you through the pages of history rewritten by Russia, revealing real facts that are carefully hidden.  The book uncovers how Moscow appropriated the legacy of Kyivan Rus’, proclaiming itself the elder brother of the Slavs.

You will immerse yourself in the deepest recesses of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has served as an instrument of propaganda and state influence since ancient times. For centuries, the ROC has been subordinated to the state — from the reforms of Peter I to playing the role of an FSB branch under the leadership of Patriarch Kirill.

Today, ROC spreads its influence over Ukraine and the entire world. Agent-priests gather intelligence data, while church structures in Russia train mercenaries and conceal secret scientific facilities, including those related to nuclear research.  This book is a profound analysis of the role of the ROC in destabilizing European security and democracy.

Anna Neplii, Ukrainian Journalist
United24Media, Podul.ro, Beta News