Revyakin Viktor

Name: Revyakin Viktor Anatoliyevich
Date of Birth: March 2, 1957
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Current restrictions: suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of 3 years of imprisonment, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to participation in the work of public religious organizations and associations for a term of 3 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 10 months, a sentence of imprisonment shall be considered suspended with a probationary period of 3 years

Biography

On March 20, 2019, searches and interrogations of citizens in connection with their Christian beliefs resumed in Magadan. Viktor Revyakin became a new defendant in the criminal case against believers in Magadan, who by this time had already become 13. The investigation believes that he participated in worship services. What do we know about Victor?

Viktor was born in 1957 in Novosibirsk. His parents are no longer alive, as well as his relatives in general. Early accustomed to an independent life. In his youth, he attended sports sections, was especially fond of athletics. He graduated from the Kiev State Institute of Physical Culture. The first place of work is the regional sports committee of Magadan. He devoted most of his life to teaching: he worked as an athletics coach and head teacher at a children's youth sports school. Today he teaches physical education at the Magadan Polytechnic College.

Viktor has been living in Magadan since 1966, he came to the city immediately after the institute. It was here that his acquaintance with the Bible took place. Before that, he had never read it or even held it in his hands. His knowledge of the Scriptures convinced him that the Bible was the source of truth.

In 2011, in Novosibirsk (where his father lived), Viktor met his future wife Natalia, and two years later they got married. For both, this is a remarriage. The children are already adults and live separately with their families. The couple love to walk in nature in their free time, as well as sit together at home and taste the local fish. For most of her life, Natalia worked as a leading specialist in the client service of the Novosibirsk Pension Fund. It is difficult for acquaintances of Viktor and Natalia to understand what a threat this law-abiding family can pose to society.

Case History

After a series of searches in Magadan in May 2018, Konstantin Petrov, Yevgeniy Zyablov and Sergey Yerkin were placed in a pretrial detention center. On the same day in Khabarovsk, the home of Ivan Puyda was searched. He was arrested and taken 1,600 km to a pretrial detention center in Magadan. The believers spent 2 to 4 months behind bars, and then ended up under house arrest. In March 2019, the FSB conducted another series of searches. The number of defendants in the case has reached 13, including 6 women and elderly. The investigator deemed holding peaceful meetings for worship as organizing, participating in and financing the activity of an extremist organization. In almost 4 years of investigation, the case materials against the 13 believers has grown to 66 volumes. The case went to court in March 2022. At the hearings, it became clear that the case was based on the testimony of a secret witness – an FSB informant who made covert recordings of peaceful meetings for worship. In March 2024, the believers were given suspended sentences ranging from 3 to 7 years, and the court of appeal later upheld this verdict.
Timeline
Back to top