Zolotova Vera

Name: Zolotova Vera Ivanovna
Date of Birth: October 20, 1946
Current status: main sentence served
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 2 years, with restriction of liberty for 6 months; The sentence of imprisonment shall be considered suspended with a probationary period of 3 years
Died during prosecution

Biography

Vera Zolotova was detained in August 2018 in Yelizovo (Kamchatka Territory). The peaceful pensioner was accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and, after long trials, was given a 2-year suspended sentence.

Vera was born in Yelizovo in 1946 in a large family with six children. As a child, she loved skating and skiing, often went hiking in the picturesque places of Kamchatka. She worked as a turner and accountant, now she is retired. Vera loved to spend time with friends, to be in nature, and to grow indoor plants. Almost all her life she lived in her native Yelizovo, although she lived in Belarus for two years.

Vera has been looking for God for a long time, getting acquainted with different religions. From the Bible, she learned that God is just and loves people. She was glad that she could address him in her own words, from the heart.

In 1966, Vera married Yuriy. They had a son and a daughter. Yuriy is no longer alive, but during his lifetime he was impressed by the positive changes that took place in his wife under the influence of the Bible.

The daughter took care of Vera until her death due to heart disease in March 2026.

Deceased Elderly

Case History

In 2018, in Yelizovo, Snezhana and Konstantin Bazhenov, both teachers, as well as widowed pensioner Vera Zolotova, were detained; their houses were searched, and a few days later they had to sign a recognizance agreement. The Investigative Committee equated the holding of joint meetings for worship to illegal activity. In September 2020, the court gave each of them a 2-year suspended sentence. The court of appeal upheld this decision, but the court of cassation returned the case for retrial to the territory court. In January 2022, it acquitted the believers, but the prosecutor’s office succeeded in having the verdict overturned in the RF Supreme Court, and the case was returned to the appeal stage, and later the courts of cassation supported the verdict of a 2-year suspended sentence.
Timeline
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