For Discussing the Bible — 5-Year Suspended Sentence. A Man with Impaired Hearing and a Pensioner Convicted in Birobidzhan

On July 29, 2025, Judge Natalia Shibanova gave Aleksandr Krushevskiy, 47, and Anatoliy Artamonov, 73, a 5-year suspended sentence with 1.5 years restriction of freedom. She found the believers guilty of participating in the activity of an extremist organization and involving others in it.

The first search at Krushevskiy's home — there were three in total — took place back in 2018. Members of Artamonov's family faced prosecution in 2019: then his daughter, Larisa, and grandson, Yevgeniy Yegorov, were charged. In early 2024, the investigation brought charges against Krushevskiy and Artamonov, citing hidden videorecordings of their conversations on Bible topics with friends.

The criminal case made the already difficult life of Aleksandr Krushevskiy, who has been hearing impaired since childhood, more complicated. "The old hearing aid has stopped working a long time ago, and I could not get a new one because of the prosecution. This is just one of the difficulties I had to shoulder," he said in his final statement. During the interrogation, the believer was not provided with a sign language interpreter, and at the hearings he could not always make out the words of the judge.

Krushevskiy's wife is struggling with what is happening and hardly leaves the home. It is also emotionally hard for his mother. "Imagine, my dear mother sees her son, disabled since childhood, under investigation, running around the courts. Of course, it's heartbreaking for her," Aleksandr revealed.

Anatoliy Artamonov, a working pensioner, could not receive his salary in full because his bank card was blocked. The trial in the Birobidzhan District Court took a lot of time and energy, but the believer said that he "tried to spend every free minute with his wife, son and great-grandchildren."

According to Artamonov, he draws strength from the examples of his elderly and infirm fellow believers: "If they endure everything, then I can too. I particularly remember the example of Andrey Vlasov, a disabled person sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment." Krushevskiy said about his attitude during the trial: "I tried not to think about the negative attitude of others — there are so many negative things. Instead, I helped everyone stay positive."

In the Jewish Autonomous Region, 27 people have been prosecuted, of whom 13 were women. Four men are serving terms ranging from 3 years and 6 months to 6 years and 9 months in a penal colony.