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 Krasnobaeva — 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 Krasnobaeva. At that moment, the believer was at work; her daughter and a small child were at home. Hearing the doorbell, the woman looked through the peephole, but law enforcement officers pointed a laser beam at it. Then the officers broke down the door and entered, pointing their weapons at the woman and her child. The kid, on seeing the armed men, screamed in panic, "Do not!" and began to vomit. Bibles, a hard drive, a flash drive, a laptop, and a cell phone were seized from the apartment. Natalya herself was detained later that evening when she returned home.

A group of about five law enforcement officers conducted a search at the home of the Volkov family — Sergey and Tatyana, both 48, as well as 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 two hours; they did not explain what they were looking for. Law enforcement officers forbade the family from eating, drinking, or using the bathroom and threatened them with pretrial detention. After the search, the entire family was taken for interrogation by the Investigative Committee. The children were released close to midnight.

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