Secret Soviet archives reveal financial links between AKEL and the USSR

New revelations from the Central Committee archives of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) have exposed a complex financial mechanism involving AKEL and the USSR. The documents, published by the newspaper Simerini on October 12, 2026, detail how tens of thousands of rubles collected from Cypriot students in the Soviet Union were moved and converted through a mechanism managed by the KGB.

This report follows an earlier investigation that highlighted documents regarding Soviet funding for the party and the secret transfer of weapons between 1960 and 1974. These archives provide a window into the historical financial ties between the Cypriot communist party and the Soviet authorities during the Cold War era.

In response to the publication, AKEL officials attempted to downplay the significance of the documents, claiming that reports of Soviet funding are not new. While the party questioned the timing of the release, it notably did not dispute the authenticity of the documents or the financial figures cited in the Soviet records.