Patriarch Kirill: The Little-Known Family of a “KGB Man”

The OsintFlow team cannot definitively confirm that the individuals mentioned in this investigation are, beyond any doubt, members of Patriarch Kirill’s family. This research builds on previously reported information, cross-referenced with leaked Russian databases. Readers can draw their own conclusions about whether the alleged family connections hold up.

According to official sources, Patriarch Kirill has no publicly acknowledged personal life. As a senior Orthodox cleric, he is expected to devote himself to the Church, and Orthodox monastics traditionally take vows of celibacy. He has no officially recognized wife or children. Instead, there are scattered references and rumors.

That is perhaps unsurprising. During the Soviet era, Gundyaev reportedly worked for the KGB under the codename “Mikhailov.” Another individual who worked with him and reportedly used the codename “Magister” is also mentioned in available records. Leaked databases have helped shed some light on the background of this “shepherd of the Russian people.”

With little useful information available in official sources, OsintFlow turned to leaked Russian databases. Here’s what we found!

Our search into Vladimir Gundyaev’s background led us to an address in St. Petersburg where he was reportedly registered in the past and where he later ordered food delivery: Apt. 178, 10 Bol’sheokhtinsky Avenue, Building A.

Records linked to the same address also list a woman named Elena Mikhailovna Gundyaeva. Her surname and patronymic suggested a possible family connection to Patriarch Kirill. Further research turned up information supporting the theory that she is his sister.

Another name that repeatedly appears in connection with Patriarch Kirill’s address is Lidiya Mikhailovna Leonova (also known as Lidiya Kholodova). She was registered at the address until 2016, when she acquired a BMW X3 xDrive28i with license plates bearing St. Petersburg’s regional code, 178.

Leonova was the plaintiff in the so-called “dust apartment scandal”. She sued a neighbour who allegedly covered her books in dust during renovation work in the Moscow apartment at 2 Serafimovicha Street, Apt. 214, the address associated with Gundyaev. Leonova won the case and was reportedly awarded 20 million rubles in damages.

Gundyaev himself described her as his “third cousin.” However, when we cross-referenced public reports with information from leaked Russian databases, the evidence appeared inconsistent with that account. Instead, it suggested that Leonova may be Patriarch Kirill’s long-term domestic partner.

Further context comes from Yuri Shevchenko, the defendant’s son in the dust scandal, who told a Russian newspaper that Leonova had indeed been living in the apartment for a long time. Church historian Sergei Bychkov also identified Leonova’s maiden name as Kholodova in Moskovsky Komsomolets. Many reports containing these statements were later removed, leaving significant gaps in the publicly available information. Nevertheless, we managed to uncover some details about this woman, who may be Kirill’s partner.

In St. Petersburg, Leonova reportedly owns a 121 m² apartment on the Kryukov Canal embankment, near the Mariinsky Theatre. The property was gifted to her in 2001 by businessman Alexander Dmitrovich, a Swiss national. We have not yet established why the gift was made. Leonova also reportedly owns a one-third share in a 200 m² non-residential property in the same building.

In February, she reportedly acquired an apartment in Moscow valued at no less than 47 million rubles. It is located in Gagarinsky Lane, near the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Since 2015, she has also reportedly owned a 300 m² country house in a gated cottage development in Sivkovo, Odintsovo District.

Lidiya Leonova: Business Connections

Lidiya Leonova is a co-founder of Vladolid LLC (ООО «Владолид») and the SONET Homeowners’ Association (ТСЖ «СОНЕТ»). Her business partner is Vladimir Yuryevich Lipar, who was personally presented with a patriarchal award by Kirill.

Lipar is also the CEO of Concord LLC (ООО «Конкорд»). A company of the same name is known as part of the holding belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the “Kremlin’s chef.” Through nominal company owners and directors, Prigozhin became a major supplier of food to military units.

It is unlikely to be merely a coincidence that the company shares the same name. Lipar is also the founder of the charitable foundation “Priidi i Vizhdi” («Прииди и вижди»), established by Lyubov Prigozhina, the “chef’s” wife.

+74959590398

When searching for the personal phone number of Leonova, the woman believed to be Gundyaev’s wife, we came across +74959590398. She listed this number when re-registering vehicles in 2008 and 2019. Once again, we find Gundyaev’s address: Apt. 214, 2 Serafimovicha Street, Moscow.

We also came across some less obvious matches that might seem insignificant at first glance. However, a closer look revealed two additional phone numbers in a leaked parking registry from Moscow. Both numbers are associated with vehicles registered to Leonova, which appear to have frequently been used to transport the woman believed to be the Patriarch’s partner.

The first number is linked to a person named Vyacheslav Pavlovich Lunyakov.

Interestingly, all the individuals listed above in connection with Leonova’s vehicle registration numbers frequently parked at 14 Akademika Yangelya Street, Moscow. The same location was also used by Anna Igorevna Petukhova, head of Russia’s “digital army.”

According to records held by the State Archives of St. Petersburg, Mikhail Kholodov, a former director of the Smolny canteen under the administration of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, had two daughters: Lidiya Kholodova, born in 1947, and Elena Kholodova, born in 1957.

Further research revealed that Elena Kholodova, who may be Patriarch Kirill’s sister-in-law, was a member of the board of directors of Peresvet Bank, 49.7% owned by the Russian Orthodox Church. She also holds a 0.3% stake in the bank.

She is a shareholder and member of the bank’s board of directors, serves as Deputy Chair of the Board, chairs the Remuneration Committee, and is a member of the Audit Committee. She is also a co-founder of the charitable foundation Pravoslavnaya Gumanitarnaya Initsiativa (Orthodox Humanitarian Initiative).

Incidentally, Elena attended School No. 533, located near the Kholodov family’s apartment on Novocherkassky Prospekt.

Bloggers brought to light the existence of the Orthodox Humanitarian Initiative foundation, reportedly established by Patriarch Kirill and his wife, Lidiya Mikhailovna Leonova. Further research revealed that the charity was founded in October 2002 and registered at Hotel Universitetsky, 8 Michurinsky Prospekt, Moscow. Its sole listed area of activity is financial intermediation. One of its co-founders was Elena Mikhailovna Kholodova.

The Patriarch’s Nephew

Mikhail Gundyaev, Patriarch Kirill’s nephew, serves as the representative and head of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chêne-Bougeries, Switzerland. The Russian Orthodox Church purchased the church in 1987.