During the cold war KGB agents used Mount Athos as a route into the west. Orthodox monks would get visa and eventually citizenship in Greece when they moved to

During the cold war KGB agents used Mount Athos as a route into the west. Orthodox monks would get visa and eventually citizenship in Greece when they moved to live in Mount Athos. Russian Orthodox church was controlled by the KGB and the Soviet State, so it was easy for them to send spies as bearded monks who would leave after getting citizenship.