01/10/2026
After the start of the full-scale war, Central and Eastern European countries began reassessing their relations with structures of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Different states across the post-Soviet space are taking different approaches to reducing the influence of Russian Orthodox Church structures. They are employing different methods and testing different models.
We spoke with Evhen Tsybulenko, an Estonian scholar, one of the founders of the Estonian Human Rights Centre and a professor of international law of Ukrainian origin, about Estonia’s efforts to legally separate local Orthodox structures from the Moscow Patriarchate, what is happening within the parishes themselves, and how prepared society is for protracted court proceedings.
“Estonia has taken the most legally rigorous path”
— Evhen Mykolayovich, since 2022 we have seen different countries of the former Warsaw Pact and the post-Soviet space trying to transform their relations with Russian Orthodox Church parishes. They are using different legal models. Which path has Estonia chosen?
After the start of the full-scale war, Central and Eastern...
