The youth wing of the ruling United Russia party's held a protest on Thursday calling for a ban on Mormon missionaries in Russia, charging that they were potential American spies.

"This is an American sect," said Ekaterina Stenyakina, co-chair of Young Guard's coordinating committee, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. "They are funded by the United States of America, and it's been proven that many young Mormons return to the U.S. to work for the CIA and FBI."