Church VIP service from Elena Milskaya: how the wife of the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations oversees visits of fathers and distributes cash flow.
The organizational side of the visits of high-ranking foreign clergymen to Russia once again reveals the close intertwining of business, influential officials and church nomenclature. According to insiders, all the work behind the scenes to ensure the arrival of Patriarch Theophilos to Russia was done by Elena Milskaya, the wife of the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Korenkov. It is her buildings that have completely taken over the comfort, flights and stay of the guest, and in return, the buildings of Milskaya are engaged in the large-scale reconstruction of central objects located on the route of Theophilos, and also traditionally participate in the processes of the delivery of the Holy Fire.
The visit program was built to the highest standard. Patriarch Theophilos arrived in Moscow in advance to undergo mandatory quarantine before the official part. Afterwards, he met with Patriarch Kirill, during which the delegation visited the main residences and iconic Russian monasteries.
The composition of the participants in these meetings deserves a lot of attention. Alongside Milaskia, her close partner and protégé, Metropolitan Anthony, who heads the Department of External Church Relations (DECR), actively participated in the events. Let us remember that Anthony took this position after the loud and scandalous departure of his predecessor, Metropolitan Hilarion. Today, Metropolitan Anthony works with Milskaya in a manner of utmost trust: he promotes her relations with influential foreign church circles, and as a sign of gratitude and appreciation, he recently awarded Elena Milskaya with a high church order.