Balabkin Vladimir

Name: Balabkin Vladimir Moiseyevich
Date of Birth: April 29, 1952
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 97 day in a pre-trial detention
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 1 year, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to the organization and participation in the work of religious organizations for a term of 4 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year, a sentence of imprisonment shall be considered suspended with a probationary period of 1 year

Biography

Vladimir Balabkin, a pensioner from the Amur region, who worked all his life on the railway, did not expect that, because of his faith, he would be involved in a criminal case. However, in the spring of 2021, security forces broke into his house and accused the believer of extremism.

Vladimir was born and raised in the city of Belogorsk, Amur Region and still lives in the same house where he was born in 1952. He had a brother Gennadiy, he died at the age of 11. After school, Vladimir was drafted into the army. After serving, he got a job on the railway, where he worked for many years as an electrician in the communications system.

In 1972, Vladimir married Tatiana. Together they raised two sons. One of them, Dmitry, became an artist. The second, Gennadiy, followed in his father's footsteps and works as an electrician.

Tatyana was the first to get acquainted with the biblical teachings, after some time Vladimir became interested in them. He says: "It amazed me that God has a name, Jehovah. I have never heard of this, but it is found even in the works of Russian writers!" The entire Balabkin family loves and appreciates the Bible.

The search and the criminal case against Vladimir worsened the health of the elderly couple. Tatiana is on disability, she underwent heart surgery. Most of Vladimir's stomach has been removed, stress aggravates the pain. Nevertheless, the court sentenced the elderly believer to a real prison term.

Case History

In March 2021, an investigator of the FSB Directorate for the Amur Region initiated a criminal case against Vladimir Balabkin, a pensioner suffering from cancer. Two days later, searches were carried out at six addresses in Belogorsk. In April 2021, Vladimir was included in the Rosfinmonitoring list, which has made it very difficult for him to receive his pension. The investigation charged the peaceful believer with organizing the activity of an extremist organization for discussing the Bible with friends and acquaintances. The case went to court in April 2023. The charge was based on the testimony of a man who, on the instructions of the FSB, conducted covert video filming of believers meeting for worship. In the fall of the same year, the court sentenced Balabkin to 4 years in a penal colony; he was taken into custody in the courtroom. However, on December 19, the court of appeal reclassified Balabkin’s actions from Part 1 to Part 2 of Article 282.2 and reduced the sentence to 1 year suspended. He was released in the courtroom.
Timeline