Russia: Religious issues and persecution: Bimonthly Digest May 16-31
30.05.2025 – Court in Kirsanov sentence 32-year-old Jehovah’s Witness to 6.5 years suspended for faith
JW – On May 27, 2025, the Kirsanovskiy District Court found Anton Kuzhelkov guilty of extremism for holding religious meetings and preaching. “Who is being judged – me or the God in whom I believe?” he said at one of the hearings, pointing out that on the 31st page of the charge, his name is mentioned only once, and the name of God – 168 times.
In December 2020, Kuzhelkov’s house was searched. “They came to our house with weapons… To us, peaceful, calm, quiet people who do no harm to anyone,” Anton shared his memories, speaking with the final statement. “Why?” Apparently, they thought that we could put up some resistance… But this was not the case. Why? Jesus’ disciples do not do that.”
29.05.2025 – Jehovah’s Witness was placed under house arrest in Moscow
Sova – In early December 2024, in the case initiated under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code, three believers were arrested, and two were placed under house arrest. In May 2025, another Jehovah’s Witness was elected under house arrest.
On December 5, 2024, after searches of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow and Lyubertsy, Moscow region, as part of the investigation of the criminal case under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code on involvement in an extremist organization, five believers were detained – Oksana Ivanova, Larisa Kislaya, Liliana Korol, Daria Petrochenko and Zaur Murtuzov, who was charged under Parts 1 and 1.1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization and involvement of others in it). The court sent Murtuzov, Korol and Petrochenko to the pre-trial detention center, and Kisluya and Ivanova – under house arrest.
29.05.2025 – A Dagestan man was fined for keeping a banned Islamic book
Sova – On May 15, 2025, the Izberbashsky District Court of Dagestan fined Arthur Khabibulayev a thousand rubles under Art. 20.29 Administrative Code (mass distribution of extremist materials).
The reason was that Khabibulaev “ketook and let other people read” the book “Gardens of the Righteous”.
An-Nawavi banned the “Gardens of the Righteous” in 2014 by the Artemovsk City Court of the Sverdlovsk Region (at the same time, the book got into the Federal List of Extremist Materials only in 2018). This is a classic collection of hadiths of the XIII century. We believe that today’s ideas about tolerance are not applicable to medieval Islamic literature, as it describes the era of religious wars and attitudes of that era, and topics such as jihad (including in the sense of waging a war for faith), a cruel medieval system of punishment or dislike of non-believers are an integral part of this literature. It should also be noted that in 2021 another court refused to ban the “Gardens of the Righteous”.
29.05.2025 – Mufti was detained in Rostov on suspicion of cooperation with At-Takfir Val Hijra
Sova – On May 29, 2025, it became known about the detention of the Chairman of the Main Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Rostov Region Akhmed Abusupyanov in Rostov-on-Don on suspicion of cooperation with the banned organization “At-Takfir Val-Hijra”.
A case was initiated against the mufti under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 (participation in the activities of an extremist organization) and Part 2 of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism committed by a group of persons).
The press service of the regional department of the FSB reported that he was involved in the spread of radical religious ideas, and also participated in an attack on a person in 2023, committed on religious grounds.
27.05.2025 – Court of appeal in Kursk mitigated punishment for their faith against Nikolay Kupriyanskiy and the Chausovs
JW – On May 26, 2025, the Kursk Regional Court reduced the sentences imposed on three Jehovah’s Witnesses: for Nikolay Kupriyanskiy to 4.5 years and the Chausovs to 1 year and 10 months. The verdict has entered into force. Dmitriy Chausov was released the same day, as he had already served his entire term in a pretrial detention center.
The prosecutor filed an appeal against the verdict of court of first instance, in which he requested the punishment to be toughened against the believers: Kupriyanskiy — 7 years in a penal colony, the Chausov couple — 3 years. The state prosecutor requested the same terms in the court of first instance.
26.05.2025 – Metropolitan of Messinia in OT: Russian church is attempting an intrusion into Church of Greece as well
Orthodoxtimes – In an interview with orthodoxtimes.com, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia, Professor of Theology at the University of Athens, shares his views on several key issues concerning the Church.
Metropolitan Chrysostomos reflects on the legacy and role of each Archbishop, addresses the issue of Church–State relations, and expresses opposition to business and investment initiatives aimed at exploiting ecclesiastical property.
26.05.25 – Court of appeal in Moscow upheld 5 years in penal colony for Aleksandr Serebryakov
JW – On May 22, 2025, the verdict in the second case against 48-year-old Aleksandr Serebryakov entered into force. A panel of judges of the Moscow City Court, chaired by Galina Lebedeva, agreed to his prison term but lifted the additional restriction of freedom that the believer was to serve after his release.
The prosecutor requested the court of appeal send the criminal case for a new trial, and the believer asked to be acquitted. Aleksandr mentioned that the second verdict, sentencing him to 5 years in a penal colony, “is actually repeating the verdict that has already entered into force and imposing a sentence for the same crime.”
26.05.2025 – The Russian Orthodox Church proposes to legally ban the ‘crossfall’
Sova – On April 8, 2025, the head of the legal department of the Moscow Patriarchate, Abbess Ksenia (Chernega), speaking in the State Duma at a meeting of the inter-factional working group, proposed to change the legislation to exclude the image of temples without religious symbols.
The Abbess proposed to supplement the laws “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” and “On Advertising” with the wording: “The use of images of religious buildings, as well as other objects containing religious symbols, without these symbols, is not allowed in the media, when selling goods, performing work, or providing services, as well as in state symbols and signs, announcements, on signs and advertising”.
19.05.2025 – The investigation into the case of cooperation with Falun Gong has been completed in Tomsk
Sova – On November 21, 2024, the Tomsk Investigative Committee initiated a case under Part 3 of Art. 284.1 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an undesirable NGO) against Russian citizen Zhu Yun.
The investigation believes that he organized a Falun Gong cell in the Tomsk region, involved other citizens in it and collected money to print religious materials.
On November 22, three addresses in Tomsk – Zhu Yun’s places of residence and work – were searched. He was chosen to be detained as a preventive measure.
19.05.2025 – The court confirmed the ban on the activities of the Baptist House of prayer in Kurganinsk
Sova – On September 6, 2024, the Kurganinsky District Court of the Krasnodar Territory satisfied the claim of the district prosecutor’s office to ban the activities of the Kurganinsky House of Prayer, which is part of the International Union of Evangelical Baptist Christians.
The reason for going to court was the inspection of compliance with the legislation on freedom of conscience and religious associations conducted by the prosecutor’s office, during which a number of violations were revealed. In particular, the prosecutor’s office established that illegal missionary religious events (about 1,500 people) are systematically held in the House of Prayer “with the participation of residents of the subject and neighboring regions, including minor citizens and missionaries and foreign citizens”.