Updated: April 18, 2024
Name: Zayshchuk Yelena Viktorovna
Date of Birth: August 25, 1934
Current status: Defendant
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Current restrictions: Recognizance agreement

Biography

Yelena Zaishchuk was accused of extremism along with five other elderly residents of Vladivostok just because of her religion. Later, in February 2021, criminal proceedings against Zayshchuk were suspended due to her poor health.

Yelena was born in 1934 and until the age of 16 she was brought up in one of the orphanages of the Mari ASSR. She does not remember her parents. Childhood was harsh, post-war—no time for entertainment.

Yelena graduated from a vocational school and received the profession of a turner. According to the distribution, she moved to Vladivostok, where she has been living since then. From the age of 17, Yelena worked in the Primorye regional crab flotilla. She graduated from the Maritime School in absentia with a degree in technologist for the processing of fish products. Yelena is now retired. She raised her daughter. The elderly woman loves animals and takes care of them.

In the late 1990s, after undergoing a major operation, Yelena got acquainted with the Bible. From this book, she received answers to questions that she had been asking herself and others for a long time. In particular, she was worried about why such a terrible and bloody World War II took place, in which so many innocent people died. Bible advice helped to cope with life's difficulties and problems.

Because of the criminal prosecution, Yelena's health worsened even more, and the consequences of the operation were exacerbated. The daughter and grandson worried about her, not understanding why they were persecuting an elderly and sick peaceful woman who had done nothing wrong to anyone.

Case History

In April 2018, the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Primorye Territory opened a criminal case against Jehovah’s Witnesses from Vladivostok. Believers were searched. Valentin Osadchuk spent 9 months in pre-trial detention and 77 days under house arrest. In April 2019, he was accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization, and 6 elderly women—Lyubov Galaktionova, Nailya Kogay, Nina Purge, Nadezhda Anoykina, Raisa Usanova and Yelena Zayshchuk—were accused of participating in it. Soon the case was received by the Leninsky District Court, but a month later the judge returned it to the prosecutor. This decision was upheld twice by the appellate court. Since January 2021, the case has been re-examined in the same court by Maksim Anufriyev. With regard to Zayshchuk, the case was suspended due to her advanced age and state of health.