Kupriyanskiy Nikolay

Name: Kupriyanskiy Nikolay Viktorovich
Date of Birth: November 16, 1967
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 175 day in a pre-trial detention, 480 day Under house arrest, 10 day in prison
Current restrictions: detention center
Sentence: imprisonment for a term of 4 years 6 months with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public and religious organizations and associations, for a term of 3 years, with restriction of freedom for a term of 1 year, with serving a sentence in the form of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony
Term of imprisonment: until July 2028
Currently held in: Detention Center No.1 for Kursk Region
Address for correspondence: Kupriyanskiy Nikolay Viktorovich, born 1967, Detention Center No.1 for Kursk Region, Ul. Pirogova, 1, Kursk, Kursk Region, 305016

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the «FSIN-letter system». To pay for service with the card of a foreign bank use Prisonmail.

Note: discussing topics related to criminal prosecution is not allowed in letters; languages other than Russian will not pass.

Biography

For his faith in Jehovah God, a resident of Kursk, Nikolay Kupriyansky, was sent to a penal colony for 6 years. In July 2023, his house was searched, the man was placed in a temporary detention facility, and later under house arrest. Addressing the court with his last plea, he said: "I am charged under a serious article with falsified evidence, or without providing any evidence at all."

Nikolay was born in November 1967 in Kursk. His parents and younger brother are no longer alive.

As a child, Nikolay loved sports—he was engaged in wrestling, shooting, skiing. After school, he graduated from the Oryol Commercial Institute, was engaged in entrepreneurial activities.

In 1985, Nikolay met Tatyana in the theater studio. A year later, they got married. The couple have an adult son and daughter who live separately. Tatyana is a teacher. She is fond of needlework, loves sewing, baking bread, making cheese, as well as cultivating a garden, especially growing strawberries. Nikolay has been fond of playing the guitar since his youth.

In 1997, the Kupriyanskys got acquainted with the Bible, and after 2 years of studying this book, Nikolay and Tatyana decided to become Jehovah's Witnesses.

The criminal prosecution had a negative impact on the health of the spouses. Nikolay's father died during the court hearings. The believer expressed his gratitude to the judge: "You always let me go when I needed to accompany my father to the hospital. Thank you very much for allowing me to bury him in a dignified manner."

Case History

In August 2023, searches were carried out at the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kursk. An FSB investigator initiated a criminal case against Nikolay Kupriyanskiy and the Chausovs, Dmitriy and Oksana. All three were detained. They were charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization and participating in it. Dmitriy was sent to a pretrial detention center, and later, like Nikolay and Oksana, placed under house arrest. The Chausovs were separated due to a ban on communication. In June 2024, the case was brought to court. The verdict was announced 6 months later: Nikolay Kupriyanskiy — 6 years in a penal colony, Dmitry Chausov and his wife Oksana — 2.5 years each. In May 2025, the court of appeal upheld this decision, while reducing the imposed terms: for Kupriyanskiy — to 4.5 years, for the Chausovs — to 1 year and 10 months. Dmitriy Chausov was released in the courtroom, as he had already served his entire term in a pretrial detention center.
Timeline
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