Alleged US Mormon Spies Detained Outside St. Pete

Two Mormons from the United States were detained outside St. Petersburg on Thursday on charges of illegally crossing into Russia from Finland, the Border Guard Service said in a statement.

The Americans — two young men aged 19 and 20 — said they belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known in Russia as the Mormon Church.

“The two engaged in proselytism and were spreading religious literature in the border region,” the local border guard service said in a statement.

“The two were cautioned and ordered to leave the border region,” the statement added.