jealousy, as in, why is he getting more than me.
that would be sooo childish. That could at best a manipulating whine.
Consider this: The Ottoman Turks conquer Istanbul (Mehmet II), and "protect" the partiarch, the Armenians, Greeks, and Slavs. They next conquer the caliphate (Selim I) and protect all the Muslims. Brilliant. Russia comes around, and with it's strengthened church promises better protection to the Armenians, Greeks, and Slavs. By now the Ottomans are in decline, and their armies run their own taxation system (plunder your own). Henceforth, the Orthodox are conquered by the Russian. To this day. The only orthodox population not completely in the Russian fold (non iron curtain and non-communist) is Greece (correct me if I'm wrong), which does feel some considerable communist pressures nonetheless.
The Russian influence subsides, but the Russian sponsored cold war terror organizations endure. Who pays them today?
Your theory is very attractive in its simplicity, but it is off the mark in its assessment of the Orthodox Church and the role of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Each national Orthodox Church normally enjoys a form of independent status and looks to the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople as First Among Equals when there is a dispute. The Moscow Patriarchate's "reach" is largely limited to the nations of the former Soviet Union, and even that is currently in dispute.
My guess would be the payola trail does not lead to Russia but leads to China. China would have the most to gain from watching all of us kill each other.