Updated: April 18, 2024
Name: Velizhanina Tatyana Yuriyevna
Date of Birth: November 24, 1972
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1.1), 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 343 day in a pre-trial detention, 24 day Under house arrest
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 1 year 5 months, with serving the sentence in a correctional colony of general regime; release from punishment in connection with the actual service

Biography

In the spring of 2021, a peaceful resident of Sochi, Tatyana Velizhanina, faced criminal prosecution for her faith. She was arrested and thrown into jail for talking about God. Health problems were added to the emotional shock — the believer underwent covid in the pre-trial detention center.

Tatyana was born in November 1972 in Tyumen. She has a brother. As a creative person, Tatyana from childhood participated in amateur performances, performed in an ensemble, and studied ballet.

After school, Tatyana graduated from specialized school, where she received the specialty of a seller of industrial goods, and then studied to be an accountant at a technical school. She graduated from both educational institutions with honors. For family reasons, Tatyana moved to the city of Megion (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area), and then to Sochi. Later she was an entrepreneur, worked as a maid, and recently, before her arrest, she drove a taxi.

For a long time, Tatyana asked questions about the meaning of life, looking for answers to them. She found them by studying the Bible. In 2004, her mother embarked on the Christian path, Tatiana followed her example and became a Christian in 2011.

Tatyana has an adult daughter who regularly comes to court hearings to support her mother. She, like Tatyana's father, does not share the religious beliefs of her mother, but does not understand the reasons for the persecution of a peaceful woman.

Case History

In March 2021, Vladimir Deshko, Yuriy Loginsky, Yuriy Moskalyov and Tatyana Velizhanina were arrested for their belief in God. Officers of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Krasnodar Territory participated in the detention of Sochi residents. Two days later, the court ruled to detain Deshko and Velizhanina in a pre-trial detention center, and Loginsky and Moskalev under house arrest. For conversations about God with local residents, believers were accused of “involvement in the activities of an extremist organization.” Tatyana Velizhanina had covid in a pre-trial detention center. She and Deshko were placed under house arrest after 11 and 10 months in a pre-trial detention center, respectively. In February 2022, the criminal case was submitted to the Khostinsky District Court of Sochi, and it was appointed to Judge Konstantin Sidoruk. On March 28, 2022, he found the believers guilty and sentenced Velizhanina to 1 year and 5 months, and Deshko to 1 year and 4 months in prison, which they actually served. Moskalev and Loginskiy were sentenced to 2 years of suspended sentence without restriction of freedom with a probationary period of 2 years.