Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

New Wave of Searches in Birobidzhan. Criminal Case Initiated Against Oleg Postnikov, Who Is Still Serving Suspended Sentence for his Faith

Jewish Autonomous Area

On April 3, 2025, in Birobidzhan (Jewish Autonomous Region) a new wave of searches of the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses took place. Four families of believers were affected, including Oleg Postnikov, Aleksandr Krushevskiy and Anatoliy Artamonov, who had previously been subjected to criminal prosecution. Oleg Postnikov was placed in a pretrial detention center.

The search warrants were issued on April 2, 2025 by the Birobidzhan District Court as part of a new criminal case against Oleg Postnikov. It was initiated on March 21, 2025 by investigator Dmitriy Yankin, whose career has been built on the prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses: since 2018, he has handled 18 cases of believers in Birobidzhan, and during this time he was promoted from lieutenant to captain.

The search at Aleksandr Krushevskiy's home, who has a hearing disability, began at 9 am and lasted for 3 hours. In the morning of the same day, 60-year-old Oleg Postnikov was summoned to the Investigative Committee, allegedly to fit him with a tracking bracelet. At that time, his house was being searched. A similar situation happened with 73-year-old Anatoliy Artamonov — he was told that he urgently needed to come to the Investigative Committee and pick up the phones seized during the previous search. From there, he was taken home by car and it was searched in his presence.

Oleg Postnikov and his wife have already received suspended sentences when they were convicted for their faith in a previous case. Earlier, the daughter of Anatoliy Artamonov and his grandson Yevgeniy were also prosecuted. The case against Larisa Artamonova in 2019 was initiated by the same Dmitriy Yankin. Now her elderly father has also come to Yankin's attention; he is defending his innocence in court together with Aleksandr Krushevskiy.

Birobidzhan is not the first place in which an investigator climbs the career ladder by initiating cases against Jehovah's Witnesses. A similar trend is observed in other regions, when entire families or believers previously convicted under articles for extremism are brought to criminal responsibility.

The Second Case of Postnikov in Birobidzhan

Case History
On July 2, 2024, Oleg Postnikov from Birobidzhan was sentenced to 5.5 years of suspended imprisonment for participation and involving in the activities of an extremist organization. In March 2025, the FSB opened a second case against the believer, accusing him of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. In April 2025, Oleg's house was searched. The man was placed first in a temporary detention facility, and then in a pre-trial detention center for two months.
Timeline

Persons in case

Postnikov
Oleg

Criminal case

Region:
Jewish Autonomous Area
Locality:
Birobidzhan
Court case number:
12507990001000006
Initiated:
March 21, 2025
Current case stage:
preliminary investigation
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Case History

The Case of the Postnikovs in Birobidzhan

Case History
In May 2018, a special operation of the FSB with the participation of 150 law enforcement officers, codenamed “Judgement Day”, took place in Birobidzhan. Oleg and Agnessa Postnikov were among the 20 Jehovah’s Witnesses who became victims of criminal prosecution. The FSB charged them with participating in the activity of an extremist organization and involving others in it. The couple was made to sign a recognizance agreement. The case went to court in June 2021. The charges were based on the testimony of police officer Zvereva and another resident of Birobidzhan, who pretended that she was interested in the Bible. In April 2022, the court gave Oleg and Agnessa suspended sentences of 5.5 and 5 years, respectively. The court of appeal overturned this decision and in October 2022 returned the case for a new trial, which resulted in suspended sentences of 5.5 and 4.5 years. Another hearing at the court of appeal upheld the verdict. In February 2024, another search took place at the Postnikovs’ home, but as part of a new raid by law enforcement officers on the homes of believers. In July 2024, the court of cassation upheld the decision of the court of appeal.
Timeline

Persons in case

Postnikov
Oleg
Postnikova
Agnessa

Criminal case

Region:
Jewish Autonomous Area
Locality:
Birobidzhan
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, "actively participated in conducting religious events for studying and disseminating... ideology"
Court case number:
12007990001000009
Initiated:
February 12, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1.1)
Court case number:
1-39/2023 (1-718/2022; 1-30/2022; 1-472/2021)
Court:
Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Olga Klyuchikova
Case History

Case of Krushevskiy and Artamonov in Birobidzhan

Case History
In January 2024, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case in Birobidzhan against unidentified persons for involvement in the activities of an extremist organization. 13 days later, Anatoliy Artamonov and Aleksandr Krushevskiy, who has a hearing disability, were searched. Then, in January 2025, the investigator chose a restriction measure for the believers in the form of a recognizance agreement, and two days later charged them with participation in the activities of an extremist organization and involvement in it. The reason for this was peaceful conversations with two women about the Bible. In February 2025, both Jehovah’s Witnesses were added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of extremists, and the case was taken to court.
Timeline

Persons in case

Artamonov
Anatoliy
Krushevskiy
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Jewish Autonomous Area
Locality:
Birobidzhan
Suspected of:
"being in various places in the city of Birobidzhan ... was directly involved in holding general religious events (conversations through online conferences), the purpose of which is to study the literature that forms the basis of the Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrine" (from the decision to initiate criminal proceedings).
Court case number:
12402990002000005
Initiated:
January 24, 2024
Current case stage:
trial in court of first instance
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Khabarovsk Territory and the Jewish Autonomous Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1.1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-168/2025
Court of First Instance:
Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Nataliya Shibanova
Case History
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