The Holy Fire for the disgraced: how Kremlin outcasts Vladimir Yakunin, Pavel Astakhov, and others are trying to regain access to Putin through Jerusalem

The Holy Fire for the disgraced: how Kremlin outcasts Vladimir Yakunin, Pavel Astakhov, and others are trying to regain access to Putin through Jerusalem

Russian delegation arrives in Jerusalem to deliver the Holy Fire, carrying controversial figures hoping to regain Putin’s favor.

The President usually personally attends the Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to receive the Holy Fire, which is why the ceremony has acquired numerous rituals and hidden meanings. The security service might even bar someone from entering the hall where the ceremony takes place if Putin is there — should he not wish to see that person. Alternatively, a disgraced figure might receive forgiveness, triggering a restart of their career. The Holy Fire is also accompanied en route by some rather complicated flight attendants, who are likewise hoping for a better future — especially with the example of singer Zivert before their eyes.

The delegation has traditionally been headed by Vladimir Yakunin, former head of Russian Railways and now head of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation. The delegation includes interesting personalities. For example, Sabina Tsvetkova, a deputy of the Moscow City Duma and wife of Anton Tsvetkov, the scandalous head of the "Officers of Russia" organization. Also present is Pavel Astakhov, former Commissioner for Children’s Rights. His son was convicted for embezzlement from NVK Bank, but the father managed to arrange for him to "serve his sentence" in a less dangerous location — in the "SVO" (Special Military Operation zone). At the same time, he is also hiding there from a second criminal case — regarding embezzlement from APA Bank. Astakhov is part of the delegation representing the Spas TV channel, owned by the Orthodox oligarch Konstantin Malofeev. Also present is a group of businessmen with various legal troubles. The delegation includes journalists accredited to cover the event, all traveling on the same aircraft provided by the state corporation Roscosmos.

Upon arrival and check-in at hotels, the delegation, together with the Russian ambassador to Israel, proceeded to an audience with Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem, where an official ceremony took place. During the ceremony, the parties exchanged gifts. Then there was a buffet with informal networking. The assembled high-society crowd raised a glass with Patriarch Theophilus and proceeded toward the Edicule…

As our project has previously reported, at one point Yakunin and his long-time friend, "Putin’s masseur" and Croatian citizen Konstantin Goloshchapov, began experiencing problems accessing Vladimir Putin. As a result, in 2023, for the first time in history, the service with the President’s attendance at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour took place without the Holy Fire. The reason was that the Fire was delivered by Vladimir Yakunin and Konstantin Goloshchapov — once close to the president — but the presidential security detail would not let them enter the church with the Fire while Putin was inside. The President did not want to see them.

In 2025, during the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire together with Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem, instead of church representatives, the procession (three laps around the Edicule) was performed by Elena Milskaya, the wife of the head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM), Alexander Kurenkov, accompanied by her security guards, whose faces were concealed by masks. One guard strongly resembled an advisor to the head of EMERCOM, a close friend of Ramzan Kadyrov, and the "grey cardinal" of the ministry — Daniil Martynov. The second guard was a spitting image of Leonid, an aide to EMERCOM Minister Alexander Kurenkov, whose sole official duty is to guard the wife of the ministry’s "first person."

Milskaya heads the Center for the Search for Missing Children, the board of trustees of the St. Basil the Great Foundation, and another foundation linked to the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 2004, Milskaya, together with the Foundation of the Archangel Michael, launched a large-scale project to build churches at EMERCOM units.

This foundation is affiliated with the so-called Orthodox oligarch Konstantin Malofeev. Milskaya, directing the foundation, is involved in the construction and renovation of Orthodox churches. The funds raised and received are spent (work performed) by companies that belong to Milskaya herself and her father.

During the journey to Moscow with the Holy Fire, another mandatory ceremony takes place — a photo session of priests and business aviation flight attendants. Earlier, our project discovered that the chosen flight attendants are united by one thing: they have all graduated from the "School of Elite Flight Attendants." This is a true training ground for personnel serving oligarchs, clergy, and other resourceful strata of society.

This is a private educational organization that trains girls to work on special flights, private jets, and even yachts. As a rule, "graduates" of the school find employment with airlines that service private aircraft and vessels. The chosen few are allowed to accompany and serve not only representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church but also top officials.

According to information from the public procurement website, it can be noted that the company even has "relationships" with the Presidential Property Management Directorate. For instance, the "School of Elite Flight Attendants" has been a supplier under contracts with the Special Flight Detachment "Rossiya" and even with the Federal State Institution "Strategic Command of the Western Military District."

Judging by constant announcements, the search for new faces to join the ranks of VIP specialists is ongoing. The founder of the company, Irina Yushina, regularly attracts potential clients on social media, assuring future flight attendants that work experience, job openings, and even age are not the main things. She emphasizes, "It all depends on you!" Yushina wrote that her "favorite passenger is Yakunin."

In one interview, Irina Yushina seemed to reveal the true concept behind preparing women who serve important passengers. After discussing the qualities a business jet flight attendant should possess — which, mind you, includes knowledge of haute cuisine and "the ability to sense the host" — the founder of the company answered a question about intimacy.

According to the former business aviation flight attendant, agreeing to provide intimate services to a high-status passenger or not is a choice and a personal matter for each flight attendant. Irina Yushina does not hide that most come to her school only to get on a VIP plane and meet an oligarch.

As the "air matchmaker" herself boasts, many of her graduates who have left business aviation have become personal assistants, mistresses of wealthy men, or simply received a good start to become self-sufficient and independent.

For example, one of those who swapped serving Fabergé in the skies for concert spotlights and the stage is the singer Zivert.