Case History
In July 2021, Kristina Golik, Valentina Yermilova, Ekaterina Olshevskaya and Maria Portnyagina (née Myasnikova) became defendants in a criminal case for believing in Jehovah God. Peaceful women from Blagoveshchensk were accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organization. A month earlier, Kristina Golik’s husband, Dmitry, had been sentenced to 7 years in prison for talking about God. The husbands of two other women, Anton Olshevskiy and Sergei Yermilov, were under investigation at the time. The case against the women was initiated by the investigator of the SO of the FSB in the Amur Region Obukhov. He claimed that they committed illegal acts, “wishing for the occurrence of socially dangerous consequences,” as he called the participation of believers in discussions of biblical topics. All four were placed on recognizance not to leave. In May 2023, the case went to court.