Korolchuk Sergey

Name: Korolchuk Sergey Stanislavovich
Date of Birth: October 22, 1967
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility
Current restrictions: suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of 6 years of imprisonment with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public organizations for a term of 5 years and with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year, punishment in the form of imprisonment shall be considered conditional with a probationary period of 4 years

Biography

In Ussuriysk (Primorye Territory), Sergey Korolchuk became a new target of criminal prosecution for his faith. What do we know about him?

Sergey was born in 1967 in Vladivostok. He has an elder sister, parents and a brother are deceased. In his youth he was fond of various sports, drawing and fishing. He graduated from the Higher Military School and served in the KGB troops of the USSR. After his discharge from the army, he worked as a loader and machine operator in the furniture industry. In recent years, Sergey was a janitor. In his free time he likes to play football and volleyball, go fishing, breeds rabbits.

In 1989, Sergey married Elena. For some time they lived in Ukraine and Germany, but later decided to return to Primorsky Krai, where they lived before. The couple raised a daughter and a son, they have a little granddaughter. They have been studying the Bible for many years and have instilled a love for it in their children. Sergey appreciates the fact that this book simply and clearly explains what is happening in the world and gives reasonable hope for the future.

The persecution had a profound impact on the lives of Sergey and his family. He lost his job. Colleagues, friends and relatives are perplexed why this peaceful, decent person can be persecuted. Acquaintances and neighbors characterize it only on the positive side. Sergey and his family are trying to remain optimistic and hope that the unjust persecution will stop.

Case History

In June 2019 in the city of Ussuriysk, searches were conducted in the homes of peaceful citizens Sergey Korolchuk and Dmitriy Tishchenko. The searches were conducted because of a criminal case under Article 282.2(1) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation initiated by E. Marvanyuk, the investigator of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Primorsky Territory. The third defendant was Anton Chermnykh, the father of a young child. The case was based on the testimony of FSB officer K. Rusakov, who for about a year followed the believers and listened in on Tishchenko’s telephone conversations. In the opinion of the investigation, by meeting friends in a cafe to discuss the Bible, the men committed “a crime against the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the State.” The believers were under house arrest for almost three years. In September 2020 Judge Dmitry Babushkin began considering the case in the Ussuriysky District Court. The defense emphasized that the key witness gave false testimony, and expert Oleshkevich made a biased and incompetent conclusion. On November 30, 2022, the judge found the believers guilty and gave them six-year suspended prison sentences, and in May 2023 the appellate court upheld this decision.
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