A Russian Orthodox priest is under investigation after he was filmed blessing a new statue of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

The incident happened on Tuesday at the unveiling of the eight-metre (26ft) monument in the city of Velikiye Luki.

In a statement, the priest’s local diocese said his actions did not represent the church’s views.

Stalin ruled the Soviet Union from 1924 until 1953 and oversaw a brutal regime that tried to eliminate religion.

According to independent Russian news site Sota, the priest admitted that while a large number of clerics were killed during Stalin’s rule, this led to the creation of many martyrs.

His diocese said that it had not approved his participation in the event and that an “internal audit” had been launched.

It is estimated that tens of thousands of clergy were among the millions of people killed or sent to labour camps during Stalin’s nearly 30-year communist rule.

Many churches were destroyed or forcibly repurposed, with religion seen as a barrier to a successful socialist society.

Stalinism left deep scars in Eastern Europe and many people still revile him for his brutality and intolerance.

Several statues of Stalin have been removed in Russia and it had taken three years to find a spot for this new statue, according to the state-owned Ria-Novosti news agency.

That was after the regional authorities in the city of Volgograd, which was once named Stalingrad, opposed to having it there.

However, there are a growing number of Russians who have taken a more positive view of Stalin in recent years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials have promoted him as the leader who lead the country to victory against Nazi Germany in World War Two.