Russian religious propaganda network uncovered in Bulgaria, investigators warn

The focus is on the Union of Orthodox Journalists — an organization originally founded in Ukraine in 2015 to spread pro-Russian propaganda amid Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Over time, they expanded their activities to other European countries, primarily those with Orthodox Christian populations. The growing activity and popularity of the UOJ website in Bulgaria prompted journalist Maya Dmitrova from BNT News, in collaboration with the civic organization BG Elves, to launch an investigation to uncover who is behind this operation and what their goals are.

According to the investigation, the Union of Orthodox Journalists’ website has been gaining popularity in Bulgaria over the past several months. It operates anonymously: the site lists no address, editorial board, or article authors. Despite this, it maintains a strong media presence across most social platforms. A large amount of original content is produced in Bulgarian, indicating that substantial resources are being invested in the project.

The website is effectively part of a media structure connected to the “pro-Russian Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is directly subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate,” Bulgarian investigators point out. Behind the “parent” web portal — of which the Bulgarian branch site is now a part — are individuals identified by the Ukrainian NGO Myrotvorets as people who "spread Kremlin propaganda" and participate in activities that violate Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty.

The Bulgarian media outlet provides no clear information for readers or donors about the site’s actual ownership.

The site appeared in Bulgaria just a few months after the death of Patriarch Neophyte, who had condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Among the topics covered by the Bulgarian outlet are the introduction of a school subject called “Virtues and Religion,” same-sex partnerships, gender ideology, Victory Day commemorations, the promotion of “traditional values” in society, and support for the pro-Russian stance of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) in its conflict with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The site openly advocates Russia’s position on Ukraine and publishes translated articles from Russian media outlets.

On the UOJ YouTube channel, a lecturer from the Sofia Theological Seminary gives a series of interviews for the outlet.

As Bulgarian journalists point out, the website requests donations in euros. However, there is no legal entity registered under the name "Union of Orthodox Journalists" in the Bulgarian Commercial Register. This raises a logical question from investigators: “So where is the donors' money going?”

“One corner of the donation form contains the abbreviation ‘TOJ LTD.’ This stands for Team of the Orthodox Journalists (TOJ) Ltd,” they note. “It is a company registered offshore in Cyprus in 2024. TOJ LTD is the new official name of the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ), whose website is banned in Ukraine. On social media, both names are used interchangeably.”

During the investigation, journalists uncovered a striking detail: the address where TOJ LTD is registered — Charalampou Mouskou 20, ABC Business Center, Floor 1, Office 106, 8010 Paphos, Cyprus — is also home to a company that has been sanctioned by the United States for involvement in an international arms trafficking network. Moreover, the ABC Business Center itself is notable for its overt pro-Russian symbolism; according to visitor reviews and images on Google Maps, multiple Russian flags are prominently displayed on the building's facade.

At the head of the Cyprus-based parent company behind the Bulgarian UOJ website are Director/Manager Anna Piddubna and Secretary Fr. Oleksii Zoshchuk. Until recently, Fr. Zoshchuk was a protopriest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). Prior to the full-scale invasion, he worked at the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC-MP. In addition to serving as editor-in-chief of the UOJ, he also held the same position at the official glossy magazine of the Metropolis, Pastyr & Pastva (circulation: 11,000), whose editorial board was chaired by Metropolitan Antoniy (Pakanich).

According to the Ukrainian NGO Myrotvorets, both Fr. Oleksii Zoshchuk and Anna Piddubna are involved in spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda.

An investigation by Ukrainian journalists into the Russian state's attempts to influence the Ukrainian Church reached the following conclusions:

"A Russian parish in Cyprus has been turned into a refuge for priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who fled Ukraine, including the de facto leadership of the media organization Union of Orthodox Journalists, which operates in the interests of the UOC. At the same time, they continue to glorify Russia and the occupying forces."

As Bulgarian investigators note, according to Ukrainian and Western intelligence services, this pro-Russian Ukrainian Orthodox Church is directly linked to the Kremlin and the Russian FSB, maintaining close cooperation between Church and state in Russia.

The trademark Union of Orthodox Journalists was registered in late 2024 by lawyer Andriy Tikhonov, who was previously involved in the Russian nationalist project Sputnik and Pogrom.

According to the Union of Orthodox Journalists website, the organization was created to oppose the Ukrainian government’s decision to establish a Church independent from Moscow:

An “international media project aimed at creating a unique platform that unites Orthodox Christians around the world.” The Union of Orthodox Journalists was established in 2014 amid a church-state crisis in Ukraine, during which the Orthodox community came under pressure and entered into conflict with the authorities. “We began our work in a time when it was necessary to cultivate thought leaders within the Orthodox environment — individuals capable of offering an objective assessment of current events and guiding public consciousness toward the pursuit of truth.”

The Bulgarian website was modeled after the broader international network of pro-Russian religious websites operated by the UOJ.

“Why has such a pro-Russian religious website begun operating in Bulgarian for a Bulgarian audience right now?” — ask the authors of the BNT News report.

The UOJ has been functioning in Russian for over 10 years. It only appeared in Bulgarian last year, just a few months after the election of the new Patriarch and amid increasingly heated public debates about religious education for children, a topic that has moved to the forefront of both Church and societal discussions. It is well known that the Russian government openly uses religion as a tool of propaganda.

On May 17, 2025, in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, a march was held in support of introducing a mandatory subject called "Virtues and Religion in School." The event was organized by various groups known for their pro-Russian stance.

In many photographs from the event, Russian Orthodox military flags are visible, held by children no older than 14-15 years. These flags were used by Russian military forces during the aggression in Ukraine.

The Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ) widely covered this event, and on their Facebook page, you can find many photos specifically of these military flags. Therefore, it’s not surprising that Bulgarian journalists became interested in the activities of this union, their media presence, and the blatant Russian trace in the whole affair.

It should be noted that the pro-Russian propaganda site UOJ, after being banned in Ukraine, moved its operations abroad, opening branches aimed at spreading pro-Russian narratives in Cyprus, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, the Czech Republic, Germany, and the USA. According to RISU, following the same scheme, the UOJ is now preparing to launch a Polish-language editorial office in Poland to influence the faithful of the PAPC and Ukrainian refugees in Poland.