It was the middle of the day, and in the village of Sidorovoskaya four visitors turned up unannounced at the church. Armed with automatic weapons, the men broke into the orthodox building and made off with the church's prized medieval icon.

When the priest arrived at the scene the robbers stuck a gun in his chest. "Go home, leave peacefully and forget about us," they said, before escaping in a 4x4.

The robbery last year was the latest in a series of attacks on churches inside Russia's Golden ring - the ancient towns close to Moscow where orthodox Christianity first took root in the 10th century.

Now police in the region have come up with a novel solution to the problem of icon raids: they have advised priests to apply for firearms licences and carry guns.

Given the atrocious state of the area's roads, detectives say that weapons are the only way to deter marauding criminals. The police concede that by the time they arrive the gangs have long gone.

"The police are recommending to priests that they should apply, as private individuals, to the interior ministry's offices and request a licence to own firearms for self-defence," a regional police spokeswoman, Yelena Kirshanova, told Reuters.