Juku-Kalle Raid: Bombing of Kyiv Monastery and Moscow's Reach into Estonia

Russia attacked one of the world's most significant Orthodox holy sites in Kyiv, the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Opinion leader Juku-Kalle Raid has drawn attention to the fact that Moscow-linked Orthodox organisations in Estonia remained completely silent after the attack, raising the question of what this silence truly means.

Russia's attack struck one of the most important sites in the Orthodox world, the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv. The monastery complex, founded in 1051, has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List together with the Cathedral of Saint Sophia since 1990, and is one of Ukraine's most renowned historical and cultural monuments.

Moscow-linked church remains silent

Juku-Kalle Raid drew attention to the fact that the Moscow-linked Orthodox church in Estonia did not react to the attack with a single word. In his assessment, such silence is itself an eloquent message—it signals solidarity with Moscow rather than sympathy for those affected.

Moreover, these same circles have previously protested loudly against the Riigikogu's decision condemning the activities of religious organisations linked to an aggressor state in Estonia. Their argument was that the tie to Moscow is purely canonical and that the Estonian state is infringing on religious freedom. The Estonian Supreme Court, however, has concluded that there is no constitutional violation.

"Onion domes" and "nun bases"-what are they really?

Raid explains that his terms "onion dome" and "nun base" are not meant to demean Orthodox believers. When referring to Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on Toompea and Kuremäe Convent, he intends to point to what role these institutions actually play, namely as bases for Moscow's "soft power" on the territory of the Estonian Republic.

"By the way, with the term 'nun base' or 'onion dome' I do not intend to disparage Orthodox believers, but am simply signalling what these organisations are actually doing in Estonia-they are indeed a true base for Moscow's 'soft power,' whose danger regrettably is not assessed with sufficient seriousness," Raid writes.

According to him, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral opposite Toompea Castle and Kuremäe Convent should not be permitted to continue operating under a "religious" label as an extension of the Russian state in Estonia, especially at a time when Russia is bombing World Heritage sites known as holy places in Ukraine.