Searches and Detentions in Shchyolkovo: Three Believers Arrested

On June 18, 2026, investigators, accompanied by law enforcement officers, carried out searches of the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses at two addresses in Shchyolkovo, Moscow Region. Three believers — Sergey and Tatyana Volkov, as well as Natalya Krasnobayeva — are under arrest.

Both searches began early in the morning. Five armed officers in masks and another eight in civilian clothing came to the home of 50-year-old Natalya Krasnobayeva. At the time, the believer was at work; her daughter with her small child were at home. Hearing the doorbell, she looked through the peephole, but law enforcement officers pointed a laser beam at it. Then the fighters broke down the door and entered, pointing their weapons at her and her child. On seeing the armed men, the boy screamed in panic, "Don't!" and started vomiting. Bibles, a hard drive, a flash drive, a laptop, and a cell phone were seized from the apartment. When Natalya returned home later that evening, she was detained.

A group of about five law enforcement officers conducted a search at the home of the Volkov family — Sergey and Tatyana, both 48, their daughter and underage son. The law enforcement officers immediately pointed their weapons at those in the apartment and demanded that they lie on the floor with their hands behind their heads. The search of the apartment and two cars lasted about 2 hours; they did not explain what they were looking for. Law enforcement officers did not allow the family to eat, drink, or use the bathroom and threatened them with pretrial detention. After the search, the entire family was taken for interrogation to the Investigative Committee. The children were released around midnight.

On June 19, 2026, the court imposed preventive measures on the detained believers: Sergey Volkov was placed in a pretrial detention center; his wife, Tatyana Volkova, and Natalya Krasnobayeva were placed under house arrest.