Statistics and Overview

Jehovah's Witnesses Under the Yoke of Repression. Year 2021 Results

December 17, 2021

Updated January 7, 2022. All data updated as of December 31, 2021.

During 2021, several anti-records were achieved - in terms of the number of court decisions, the severity of the sentences, as well as in the number of believers being held in correctional labor colonies and pre-trial detention centers. However, the end of the year was marked by the ruling of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in defense of believers and a first acquittal.

How many people were repressed for their faith in 2021? As of December 31, 2021, 597 followers of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses are officially in the status of accused, suspected, indicted, convicted, or acquitted. Of these, 142 learned about the criminal prosecution in 2021. (In 2019, this figure was 213, and in 2020 - 146.) The total number of criminal cases reached 277 (most often 2 or more defendants in one criminal case).

What is the geographic scope of religious repression as of the end of 2021? Criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses have already been initiated in 70 regions of Russia (according to the Constitution, there are 85 subjects in Russia in total). In 2021, cases were initiated in 10 new regions of Russia - in Tuva, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Tula regions, in Adygea, in the Altai Territory, Kurgan, Irkutsk and, finally, Samara regions. (In 2019, criminal prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses was initiated in 21 new regions of Russia, and in 2020 in 8 new regions.)

How many convictions for faith were handed down in 2021, and how many have gone into effect? As of December 31, 2021, 170 men and women were convicted for their faith in the past 4 years. During 2021, 111 people were found guilty under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced by the courts of first instance to various punishments. (In 2019, this figure was 18, and in 2020 - 39.) Of these, 46 people are still awaiting the decision of the appeal. With regard to 85 believers, appeals were held during 2021 and the sentences entered into force. (In 2019, this figure was 10, and in 2020 - 23.) In some cases, the punishment was mitigated or toughened, but most often it remained unchanged. In 2021, there was 1 acquittal of a believer who was charged under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; The acquittal has not yet entered into force.

What sentences were handed down to Jehovah's Witnesses in 2021? During 2021, the courts slightly updated the anti-records for the severity of the punishment imposed on believers. Until the end of 2020, the most severe sentences were given to 5 men with a sentence of 6 years in prison in a general regime colony. However, in 2021, the brutality of state prosecutors and judges broke through the bottom again and again: 6 years and 3 months, 6 years and 5 months, 6.5 years, 7.5 years and, finally, 8 years in a general regime colony. Moreover, 4 believers have already been sentenced to 8-year terms in the colony, and in 2 of them their wives are subjected to similar criminal prosecution. For example, Olga Ivanova from Astrakhan went to a colony for 3.5 years, while her husband was sentenced to 8 years in a colony. If we talk about women, the record of cruelty was updated in February, when the sentence was passed on 70-year-old Valentina Baranovskaya, who suffered a stroke during the investigation. She was sentenced to 2 years in a penal colony. Attempts at appeal and cassation were unsuccessful, and she remains in the penal colony.

In total, during 2021, 32 believers were sentenced to real imprisonment, 68 believers were sentenced to suspended imprisonment and 10 to fines. In one case, no punishment was imposed in connection with the death of a believer. At least two believers, who now reside outside of Russia, are known to have been sentenced in absentia to prison.

How many Jehovah's Witnesses have gone through temporary detention facilities, pre-trial detention centers or colonies, and how many are still being held there. By February 26, 2021, the number of Jehovah's Witnesses who are simultaneously in Russian colonies and pre-trial detention exceeded 50 for the first time. As of December 31, 2021, 76 people remain behind bars. (A year ago, this figure was 44 people; in December 2019, exactly the same number was in jail - 44 people.)

During 2021, a measure of restraint in the form of detention (SIZO) was chosen against 54 believers, including 6 women, and another 28 people spent several days in a temporary holding facility, but a measure of restraint that was not related to isolation from society was chosen for them. Thus, 82 believers were imprisoned within a year. (In 2019, this figure was 84 people, and in 2020 - 72.) During 2021, six Jehovah's Witnesses from Saratov and Kemerovo were released from prison after serving their sentences in full, and one was released two months early.

A total of 315 believers have been or remain behind bars since May 2017.

How many searches have been conducted in the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses? Since the decision to liquidate the registered organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses came into force, a total of 1660 searches have been conducted in their homes. Of these, 382 searches were conducted in 82 settlements of Russia in 2021. (In 2019, the number of searches was 489 in 75 settlements, and in 2020 - 447 in 81 settlements.) The largest special operations against Jehovah's Witnesses in 2021 were carried out in Moscow and Chekhov (16 searches per day), Kovrov (12), Syktyvkar (13), Tula (17), Yaroslavl (13), Barnaul and its environs (27), Irkutsk and Pivovarikha (13), and Taganrog (14). A search is a significant restriction of a person's constitutional right to privacy, personal and family secrets, honor, and good name. After searches in Irkutsk, several believers reported that they had been tortured.

Chronicle of the incursions into the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in 2021:

01/09/2021 Mednogorsk (Karachay-Cherkess Republic): 3 searches carried out.
01/21/2021 Votkinsk (Udmurt Republic): 7 searches were conducted.
01/25/2021 Opochka (Pskov Region): 1 search was conducted.
01/28/2021 Kyzyl (Republic of Tuva): 3 searches carried out.
01/29/2021 Sibay (Republic of Bashkortostan): 1 search was conducted.
02/10/2021 Chekhov (Moscow Region): 1 search was conducted.
02/10/2021 Moscow (Moscow): 15 searches carried out.
02/11/2021 Razdolnoye (Republic of Crimea): 2 searches were conducted.
02/14/2021 Belovo (Kemerovo Region): 6 searches carried out.
02/17/2021 Kovrov (Vladimir Region): 12 searches carried out.
03/02/2021 Syktyvkar (Komi Republic): 13 searches carried out.
03/04/2021 Belogorsk (Amur Region): 6 searches were conducted.
03/11/2021 Yalta (Republic of Crimea): 9 searches were conducted.
03/17/2021 Voronezh (Voronezh Region): 2 searches carried out.
03/20/2021 Taganrog (Rostov Region): 1 search was conducted.
03/22/2021 Voronezh (Voronezh Region): 1 search was conducted.
03/25/2021 Tavrichanka (Primorye Territory): 2 searches were conducted.
03/30/2021 Vyazemsky (Khabarovsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
03/30/2021 Abakan (Republic of Khakassia): 3 searches carried out.
04/02/2021 Taiga (Kemerovo Region): 3 searches were conducted.
04/ 06/2021 Maykop (Republic of Adygea): 1 search was conducted.
04/07/2021 Kholmskaya (Krasnodar Territory): 7 searches were conducted.
04/13/2021 Tula (Tula Region): 17 searches carried out.
04/13/2021 Yaroslavl (Yaroslavl Region): 13 searches carried out.
04/13/2021 Kireevsk (Tula Region): 3 searches carried out.
04/14/2021 Izhevsk (Udmurt Republic): 3 searches carried out.
04/15/2021 Voronezh (Voronezh Region): 1 search was conducted.
04/16/2021 Maykop (Republic of Adygea): 5 searches carried out.
04/16/2021 Voronezh (Voronezh Region): 1 search was conducted.
04/19/2021 Taiga (Kemerovo Region): 1 search was conducted.
05/02/2021 Kaltan (Kemerovo Region): 4 searches were conducted.
05/18/2021 Chelyabinsk (Chelyabinsk Region): 1 search was conducted.
05/27/2021 Barnaul (Altai Territory): 17 searches carried out.
05/27/2021 Rubtsovsk (Altai Territory): 7 searches carried out.
05/27/2021 Lugovoye (Altai Territory): 1 search was conducted.
05/27/2021 Troitskoye (Altai Territory): 1 search was conducted.
05/27/2021 Shahi (Altai Territory): 1 search was conducted.
06/01/2021 Lipetsk (Lipetsk Region): 2 searches were conducted.
06/02/2021 Astrakhan (Astrakhan region): 1 search was conducted.
06/05/2021 Solnechny (Khabarovsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
06.06.2021 Solnechny (Khabarovsk Territory): 2 searches carried out.
06/08/2021 Novokuznetsk (Kemerovo Region): 3 searches were conducted.
06/08/2021 Vladikavkaz (Republic of North Ossetia): 1 search was conducted.
06/09/2021 Moscow (Moscow): 1 search was conducted.
06/10/2021 Uvarovka (Moscow Region): 1 search was conducted.
06/11/2021 Asha (Chelyabinsk Region): 4 searches were conducted.
06/11/2021 Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
06/11/2021 Minyar (Chelyabinsk Region): 1 search was conducted.
06/23/2021 Alatyr (Chuvash Republic): 2 searches carried out.
07/06/2021 Konakovo (Tver Region): 3 searches were conducted.
07/06/2021 Ivanovo (Ivanovo Region): 1 search was conducted.
07/08/2021 Kovrov (Vladimir Region): 2 searches were conducted.
07/13/2021 Kurgan (Kurgan region): 1 search was conducted.
07/14/2021 Kurgan (Kurgan region): 5 searches carried out.
07/14/2021 Shadrinsk (Kurgan Region): 8 searches were conducted.
07/16/2021 Maisky (Kabardino-Balkaria Republic): 3 searches carried out.
07/18/2021 Abdulino (Orenburg Region): 1 search was conducted.
07/20/2021 Kodinsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 5 searches carried out.
07/21/2021 Murmansk (Murmansk region): 1 search was conducted.
07/21 /2021 Snezhnogorsk (Murmansk Region): 5 searches carried out.
07/21/2021 Polyarny (Murmansk Region): 1 search was conducted.
07/21/2021 Olenegorsk (Murmansk Region): 2 searches carried out.
07/22/2021 Apatity (Murmansk region): 4 searches carried out.
07/27/2021 Kodinsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
07/30/2021 Vyazemsky (Khabarovsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
08/05/2021 Armyansk (Republic of Crimea): 7 searches were conducted.
08/06/2021 Tolyatti (Samara Region): 1 search was conducted.
08/16/2021 Yevpatoria (Republic of Crimea): 1 search was conducted.
08/18/2021 Sochi (Krasnodar Territory): 3 searches carried out.
08/25/2021 Moscow (Moscow): 7 searches were conducted.
08/29/2021 Alatyr (Chuvash Republic): 1 search was conducted.
09/02/2021 Maisky (Kabardino-Balkaria Republic): 3 searches carried out.
09/02/2021 Kanash (Chuvash Republic): 2 searches were conducted.
09/06/2021 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Kamchatka Territory): 1 search was conducted.
09/10/2021 Kirovsky (Primorye Territory): 2 searches carried out.
09/10/2021 Pavlo-Fedorovka (Primorye Territory): 1 search was conducted.
09/10/2021 Gornye Klyuchi (Primorye Territory): 1 search was conducted.
09/21/2021 Tambov (Tambov Region): 2 searches carried out.
10/04/2021 Irkutsk (Irkutsk Region): 12 searches were conducted.
04.10.2021 Pivovarikha (Irkutsk region): 1 search was conducted.
10/05/2021 Shadrinsk (Kurgan Region): 6 searches were conducted.
10/06/2021 Tambov (Tambov Region): 2 searches were conducted.
06.10.2021 Kurgan (Kurgan region): 3 searches carried out.
10/20/2021 Moscow (Moscow): 8 searches were conducted.
10/20/2021 Komsomolsk-on-Amur (Khabarovsk Territory): 3 searches carried out.
10/22/2021 Chelyabinsk (Chelyabinsk Region): 2 searches carried out.
10/27/2021 Snezhinsk (Chelyabinsk Region): 1 search was conducted.
10/29/2021 Taganrog (Rostov Region): 1 search was conducted.
01.11.2021 Luchegorsk (Primorye Territory): 1 search was conducted.
09.11.2021 Akhtubinsk (Astrakhan region): 1 search was conducted.
09.11.2021 Znamensk (Volgograd Region): 1 search was conducted.
11/10/2021 Prokopyevsk (Kemerovo Region): 2 searches carried out.
11/23/2021 Mednogorsk (Karachay-Cherkess Republic): 4 searches were conducted.
11/23/2021 Stavropol (Stavropol Territory): 1 search was conducted.
11/23/2021 Kineshma (Ivanovo Region): 5 searches were conducted.
11/24/2021 Kopeysk (Chelyabinsk Region): 4 searches were conducted.
11/25/2021 Lesosibirsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 5 searches carried out.
11/26/2021 Zheleznovodsk (Stavropol Territory): 6 searches carried out.
11/26/2021 Kurgan (Kurgan region): 1 search was conducted.
11/30/2021 Askiz (Republic of Khakassia): 1 search was conducted.
11/30/2021 Mezhdurechensk (Kemerovo Region): 1 search was conducted.
11/30/2021 Makushino (Kurgan Region): 1 search was conducted.
02.12.2021 Kurgan (Kurgan region): 1 search was conducted.
07.12.2021 Taganrog (Rostov Region): 14 searches carried out.
12/15/2021 Samara (Samara Region): 14 searches were conducted.
12/15/2021 Kurgan (Kurgan region): 1 search was conducted.
12/23/2021 Stavropol (Stavropol Territory): 1 search was conducted.

What steps did the Russian authorities take in 2021 to stop the illegal criminal prosecution? On October 28, 2021, the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation issued a ruling stating that the divine services of Jehovah's Witnesses, their joint rituals and ceremonies do not in themselves constitute a crime under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, despite the liquidation of their legal entities. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation amended paragraph 20 of Resolution No. 11 of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of June 28, 2011 "On Judicial Practice in Cases of Crimes of an Extremist Nature". During the meeting of the Plenum, the judge-rapporteur noted that new clarifications appeared in pursuance of the instructions of the President of Russia and that these clarifications were repeatedly discussed at meetings of the expanded working group with the participation of the FSB. "The clarification will make it possible to unify the existing practice of applying Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code and avoid cases of unjustified criminal prosecution of persons solely in connection with the external manifestation of their attitude to religion."

The above-mentioned acquittal was handed down just after the issuance of this decision of the Plenum. However, the resolution could not immediately stop the repressive inertia: after the decree was issued, more than 50 searches were conducted in the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses, new criminal cases were initiated against 18 believers, a preventive measure in the form of detention in a pre-trial detention center was chosen or extended against 34 believers, 13 believers were convicted and a sentence of 300,000 rubles was imposed on a fine up to 6 years of suspended imprisonment. In the case of 13 believers, the appellate courts upheld convictions, including those involving actual imprisonment, such as in the case of father and son Avanesov, who were sentenced to 6 and 6.5 years in prison.

Earlier condemnations of the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia included:

The Russian government has repeatedly stated that decisions of Russian courts to liquidate and ban Jehovah's Witnesses organizations "do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses and do not contain restrictions or prohibitions on the individual practice of the above-mentioned doctrine."