The Telegraph 30 October 2012:
Moscow police 'discover brothel on monastery premises'
Moscow police 'discover brothel on monastery premises'
Moscow police have discovered a brothel on the premises of a monastery whose abbot is thought to be President Vladimir Putin's spiritual adviser.
Another source at the monastery told Interfax news agency that monks "had heard that next to us was a hotel offering 'intimate services'" but it was nothing to do with them.
A video of the alleged brothel showed leather harnesses, chains and whips hanging in a basement and Podushkin's website advertises rooms in the hotel "fitted out for erotic games".
Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church took a harsh stance earlier this year when three members of the Pussy Riot feminist opposition group staged a "punk prayer" during which they danced a cancan in Moscow's main cathedral, Christ the Saviour.
The church leader, who is a close ally of Mr Putin, called the protest blasphemous. The three women were later convicted and sentenced to two years in prison, although one has since been released on appeal.
Critics of the church say its moral posturing is eroded by the behaviour of senior clerics. Patriarch Kirill was pilloried in April for wearing a £20,000 Breguet watch and a priest in Moscow came under scrutiny in August after crashing a BMW Z4 roadster with Maltese license plates.
The fact that a commercial car-wash operates underneath Christ the Saviour has also been ridiculed.
The church, meanwhile, claims it is the victim of a smear campaign.
Sretensky Monastery was founded in 1397. Its abbot, Father Tikhon, has played down his connection to Mr Putin, but admits they know each other since before the latter first became president in 2000.
Police said they were searching for the organisers of the brothel.
A video of the alleged brothel showed leather harnesses, chains and whips hanging in a basement and Podushkin's website advertises rooms in the hotel "fitted out for erotic games".
Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church took a harsh stance earlier this year when three members of the Pussy Riot feminist opposition group staged a "punk prayer" during which they danced a cancan in Moscow's main cathedral, Christ the Saviour.
The church leader, who is a close ally of Mr Putin, called the protest blasphemous. The three women were later convicted and sentenced to two years in prison, although one has since been released on appeal.
Critics of the church say its moral posturing is eroded by the behaviour of senior clerics. Patriarch Kirill was pilloried in April for wearing a £20,000 Breguet watch and a priest in Moscow came under scrutiny in August after crashing a BMW Z4 roadster with Maltese license plates.
The fact that a commercial car-wash operates underneath Christ the Saviour has also been ridiculed.
The church, meanwhile, claims it is the victim of a smear campaign.
Sretensky Monastery was founded in 1397. Its abbot, Father Tikhon, has played down his connection to Mr Putin, but admits they know each other since before the latter first became president in 2000.
Police said they were searching for the organisers of the brothel.
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