Name: Neverov Ivan Yevgeniyevich
Date of Birth: April 6, 1986
Current status: defendant
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 76 day in a pre-trial detention, 93 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: prohibition of certain actions

Biography

At a young age, Ivan Neverov, following the example of his parents, became a Christian and has remained loyal to his decision despite being persecuted for his faith.

Ivan was born in April 1986 in the city of Mineralnye Vody, Stavropol Territory. He has an elder sister. Their father was a builder, and their mother was a footwear technologist. Parents instilled in their children a love for work and the Bible. Ivan spent his free time with friends who were also raised with high moral standards. He is still friends with many of them to this day.

Ivan's family had difficulties: his father abused alcohol, and his mother was already thinking about divorce. Everything changed when, at a construction site where the man worked, a woman entered a construction booth and told about the Bible. Ivan's father was interested, and he said to her: "Come to us and explain to my wife that divorce is not allowed." Bible study began, the father broke with bad habits and kept the family together. The son was baptized at the age of 12, in 1998.

After school, Ivan went to college and graduated as an auto mechanic. The young man gained a good reputation and was invited to serve in the Presidential Regiment. Guided by peaceful Christian principles, Ivan refused military service and instead performed alternative civilian service (ACS) for three and a half years at a psychoneurological boarding school 1,500 km from home. The believer humorously recalls that at first, he had to sleep in the treatment room on a gurney, and that his salary was 2,000 rubles a month, despite having to pay 2,200 rubles just for food in the dining room.

After the ACS, Ivan worked as a builder and also helped his parents in solving household issues. Gradually, he mastered new skills: painting and plumbing work, tiling. Clients and colleagues spoke of him as an honest, diligent person and a qualified specialist.

In 2013, at a friend's wedding, Ivan met his future wife, Tatyana. A year later they got married. In the same year, Ivan lost his mother, and in 2022, his father.

Since 2015, the couple have been living in Saransk, where Ivan continued to work in the field of repair and construction. Tatyana works as a hairdresser; regular advanced training courses have helped her become a sought-after master.

Searches of Jehovah's Witnesses in Saransk began in 2016. Among the first to have them was Vladimir Atryakhin, Ivan's half-brother.

From 2020 to 2022, covert surveillance was conducted in the apartment of the couple Neverovs. "Later we realized that we were listened to not only during meetings for worship—there was a wiretapping in the apartment, and they heard our entire personal life. It was unpleasant," Ivan shared.

Relatives and friends were worried about the arrest of the believer and wondered how it was possible to send such a person to a pre-trial detention center. Ivan recalls: "Tatyana and I already understood that this would happen, we were preparing. Most of all, I was worried that we would be apart, and how it would all affect her."

Case History

In February 2023, a series of searches took place in the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Saransk. A month earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs opened a case on organizing the activities of an extremist organization. Several believers, including women, were taken for interrogation to the center for combating extremism. Some of them said that the investigators tried to force them to incriminate themselves and their friends. Mikhail Shevchuk, Ivan Neverov and Artem Velichko were placed in a pre-trial detention center for 2.5 months, and later under house arrest, where they spent more than 3 months. In August 2023, their preventive measure was changed to a ban on certain actions. Later, the case of Artem Velichko was separated into a separate proceeding. In January 2025, the case against Neverov and Shevchuk went to court.
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