Served Sentences

Another Jehovah's Witness From Saransk Released. His Wife Still Serving Term for Her Faith

Mordovia,   Mari El

On December 30, 2025, Georgiy Nikulin, 62, left penal colony No. 3 for the Republic of Mari El, having served his sentence in full. The believer was met by his friends. His wife, Elena, could not be with him to share his joy of being released — she is still imprisoned.

In August 2022 the Nikulins, and four of their fellow believers, were convicted for their faith. Georgiy and Elena were sent to a pretrial detention center, and after the decision of the court of appeal, they were transferred to penal colonies in different regions. For a long time, they could not communicate: visits were impossible, and only after 1.5 years of being separated, the couple obtained permission to correspond.

In prison, Georgiy first worked in the sewing workshop, but due to problems with his sight, he was transferred to assembling electrical sockets. According to Georgiy, thanks to his faith, he endured difficult prison conditions, perhaps even easier than other prisoners. "I had high blood pressure. It reached 230, which shocked the medical team," said the believer and added: "I constantly felt God's support. Without his help, everything would have been completely different..."

Elena Nikulina is due to be released in August 2026. Three other defendants have already been released, and the sentence of Vladimir Atryakhin, father of two young children, ends in March 2028.

The Case of Shevchuk and Others in Saransk

Case History
In February 2019, in Saransk, the FSB initiated a criminal case for extremism against three believers. After mass searches, the father of two young children, Vladimir Atryakhin, as well as Aleksandr Shevchuk and Georgiy Nikulin, ended up in a pretrial detention center, where they spent 2 to 5 months. Later, three more defendants appeared in the case — Aleksandr Korolev, Elena Nikulina and Denis Antonov. The case went to court in May 2021. The defense showed the court several times that the declassified witness Vlasov was giving false testimony. In August 2022, the believers were convicted: Atryakhin was sentenced to 6 years, the Nikulins — 4 years and 2 months each, and Shevchuk, Korolev, and Antonov — 2 years in a penal colony. The court of appeal upheld the verdict. In November 2023, Shevchuk was released from the penal colony, in June 2024, Korolev and Antonov were released, and in December 2025, Nikulin.
Timeline

Persons in case

Korolev
Aleksandr
Antonov
Denis
Atrуakhin
Vladimir
Nikulin
Georgiy
Nikulina
Elena
Shevchuk
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Mordovia
Locality:
Saransk
Suspected of:
they "disseminated ideology and belief among the citizens of the Republic of Mordovia... by conducting conversations with citizens of Saransk in public and in residential buildings" which is interpreted as "organising the activity of an extremist organisation"
Court case number:
11907890001000003
Initiated:
February 4, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate for the Republic of Mordovia
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1), 282.2 (1.1)
Court case number:
1-13/2022 (1-216/2021)
Court:
Leninskiy District Court of the City of Saransk
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Yelena Simonova
Case History
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