The priest at the Russian Orthodox Aleksander Nevskij Church in Copenhagen, Mihail Sukhanov, has rejected claims that his congregations are tied to the Russian state or involved in an attempt to infiltrate Dansk Folkepartis Ungdom.
DR reported on August 20 that Sukhanov declined an interview but agreed to answer a series of questions in writing. He leads the church in Bredgade in central Copenhagen, which several of the people at the center of the case attended.
The Russian Orthodox church in Denmark came under scrutiny after 11 people with links to the churches in Copenhagen and Aarhus were expelled from Dansk Folkepartis Ungdom, the youth wing of the Danish People’s Party. According to TV 2, the exclusions took place on May 28, 2026, and two of those expelled had already taken local leadership posts in East and West Jutland.
The underlying story was published by Berlingske on August 19. DFU chair Mads-Magnus Damm told the newspaper that the group kept to itself and ran for internal positions, which the organization found unacceptable. The 11 were expelled two days before DFU’s annual meeting in May.
The Danish People’s Party’s secretariat and organization chief, Kenneth Kristensen Berth, told DR earlier on Thursday that the group had held prayer meetings and tried to place members in prominent DFU posts. As reported by TV 2, Berth has also told Berlingske that the party’s case is not about Ukraine, Russia or the Russian Orthodox church.
Expert and priest disagree
Flemming Splidsboel, a senior researcher with a Russia focus at DIIS, told DR there is a relatively high probability that the case is an attempted Russian infiltration of a Danish youth party. He said the decisive question is whether the Russian Orthodox church actively directed the men. Per Splidsboel, ties between Vladimir Putin’s regime and the church have only grown stronger in recent years, and the church now also functions as a tool of the Russian state.
Sukhanov rejects that account. He stated that his parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, ROCOR, which is administered by a synod of bishops based in New York. According to Sukhanov, his congregations have never received money or other support from the Russian state, and claims that the church supports the war in Ukraine are groundless. He noted that ROCOR broke with the church in Russia in 1917.
The priest also denied any knowledge of attempts to infiltrate DFU. He said he knows four of the people involved as ordinary churchgoers, and that his dialogue with them concerned spiritual life only. Asked whether membership implies support for the Russian regime, he called the question foolish, saying the church is not a political party.
Kristeligt Dagblad reported on August 14 that an influx of young Danish converts, including several former DFU members, has created conflict in the Copenhagen congregation. Some established parishioners described the newcomers as chauvinist or somewhat fanatical.
