In the long and troubled story of religious persecution in modern Russia, the release of Dmitriy Zagulin stands as both a deeply human moment and a stark reminder that freedom can arrive carrying the weight...

The FSB raided at least four Jehovah's Witness households in Dimitrovgrad in Ulyanovsk Region early on 3 February. Masked officers knocked down Zhanna Popova when she answered the door. An officer struck her 60-year-old husband...

On March 7, 2026, the Moskow District Court of Cheboksary ruled to send Albert Pilshchikov, 45, to a pre-trial detention center. A day earlier, he was detained in Naberezhnye Chelny on the basis of a...

On March 3, 2026, the Shadrinsk District Court sentenced Vladimir Gaydyshev, 53, a visually impaired with a disability of group I, to a fine of 300,000 rubles for participating in the activities of an extremist...

Russia's Supreme Court declared the Jehovah's Witness Administrative Centre "extremist" and banned its activities in 2017. In the years since then, 887 people have faced criminal prosecution for continuing to meet for prayer and Bible study. [caption...

Born in Soviet Uzbekistan, Rustam Diarov had his Russian citizenship revoked in February 2025 while he was in jail to punish him for participation in Jehovah's Witness meetings. On 17 February 2026, prison authorities released...

A Russian occupation ‘court’ in Crimea has sentenced 54-year-old Vitaliy Buryk to six years’ imprisonment for remaining true to his faith as a Jehovah’s Witness.  Buryk, who was born in Luhansk oblast, had been a believer for 20 years...

Four Jehovah's Witnesses have been convicted of extremist activity and jailed in Russia in the past week on the basis of covert video recordings by spies who infiltrated their prayer sessions, a spokesperson for the...

Oleg Postnikov has been sentenced to six years and two months in a penal colony, Judge Vasilina Bezotechestkikh of the Birobidzhan District Court announced the verdict on February 12, 2026. Earlier, the same court had...