Video Kursk governor brought an Orthodox priest to sanctify his office with Agheasm, after his predecessor was arrested for corruption
Photo: Alexander Khinshtein and an Orthodox priest. Source: Video Capture Alexander Khinshtein / Telegram
The interim governor of the Kursk region, Alexander Khinshtein, invited a Russian Orthodox priest to bless his office with holy water, following the arrest of his predecessor, accused of fraud, earlier this week, writes the independent publication The Moscow Times.
Acting Governor of Russia's Kursk Region Alexander Khinshtein Invited to Priest to Sprinkle His Office with Holy Water His Predecessor Alexei Was Arred on Charges of Embezzing Funds Meant for Building Defensives on the Border with Ukraine pic.twitter.com/z83qj5esxt
– Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) April 18, 2025
“I understand clearly how many sins have accumulated between these walls in the light of recent events,” Khinshtein wrote, in a message posted on the Telegram Messegress app.
Khinshtein, who was born into a family of Jews, also distributed a video recording that shows the Russian Orthodox priest sprinkling with the governor's office.
In December, President Vladimir Putin named Khinshtein, former federal deputy and high-ranking member of the united Russian ruling party, as interim governor of the southwest Kursk region.
Khinshtein replaced former governor Alexei Smirnov, who was placed in preventive arrest on Thursday following charges that he and his deputy diverted 1 billion rubles ($ 12.17 million) from a state contract, which had been concluded for the construction of defensive fortifications near the border.
Smirnov has been interim governor for less than three months when Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion in the Kursk region last year, after which thousands of inhabitants were forced to leave their homes. Despite the fact that much of the region was under Ukrainian control at that time, Smirnov was elected governor in September with almost two thirds of the votes.
The military incursion of Ukraine, which seemed to encounter little resistance, sparked the anger of public opinion and intensified control over the state of defensive fortifications and the use of government funds. Smirnov's steep resignation in December and Khinshtein's subsequent appointment was perceived as an effort of the Kremlin to defuse the protests and to restore the order.
In recent weeks, Russian troops have regained much of the Kursk region, although it seems that a small part remains under the control of Ukrainian forces.
On Friday, Khinshtein announced that prosecutors have opened, from the end of 2024 and until now, more than 10 criminal files related to the regional border defense projects.
