Updated: March 28, 2024
Name: Amosov Maksim Vladimirovich
Date of Birth: December 28, 1976
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Sentence: penalty in the form of a fine in the amount of 500,000 rubles

Biography

On July 31, 2019, in two cities of Karelia (Petrozavodsk and Kondopoga), mass searches were carried out at the apartments of citizens suspected of practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. The raid resulted in three criminal cases for faith. 42-year-old Maksim Amosov and his wife were detained on the street, he was taken on his own recognizance. What do we know about him?

Maksim was born in 1976 in the village of Chernoye, Perm Region. Of the parents, his father, a former radiologist engineer at the plant, is alive today. Mom worked as a school principal. He has a younger brother, Konstantin.

As a child, Maksim went hiking, engaged in fencing, modeling, played chess, read a lot. After school, he entered the university at the Faculty of Economics, but left his studies. After 2 years, he entered the academy and received a higher economic education with a degree in management. During the break between studying at universities, he managed to acquire a special education as an accountant-economist. Since 2000 he has been working as a chief accountant at various enterprises, since 2006 it has been a store of musical instruments.

In 1998, Maksim came to Petrozavodsk to work. There he met his future wife Maria. She is a lawyer by education, but does not work in her specialty. Maria masterfully makes handicrafts and gives them to loved ones. The husband calls his wife a "good Samaritan" because she is always ready to help. Maxim likes to spend his free time in the garden, is also fond of numismatics and philately, works out in the gym with his wife.

Maksim knew from childhood that his surname Amosov was directly related to the Bible, since it contains a book with that name. "Since there is a book by Amos, then I am of the same kind," says Maxim, laughing. "That's how I reasoned. Besides, I'm Jewish. But with all this, I did not consider myself a believer. And when I began to get to know this wise book more deeply, to reflect on what I learned by applying the knowledge gained in my life, I was amazed that all God's advice is effective! I saw happy friends around me, I looked at my wife and realized how valuable Bible knowledge was to her. And our family became stronger and happier from year to year."

Maksim and Maria were detained right on the street. The "men in black" came up from behind, unexpectedly. According to Maxim, now every time someone comes up from behind, they shudder and freeze. Maria has to constantly take sedatives. The director of the store where Maxim works was warned to look for a new accountant. All this does not allow the spouses to lead a normal life.

Despite the fact that none of the relatives of Maxim and Maria share their beliefs, everyone is very worried about Maxim and does not understand how white can be called black and good evil.

Case History

In July 2019, the FSB carried out mass searches in homes and workplaces of believers in Petrozavodsk. Several more searches took place in the neighboring city, Kondopoga. The couple, Maksim and Maria Amosov, were detained right on the street and Maria’s coat was torn. A criminal case was initiated against Maksim, in which 3 more defendants appeared later: Nikolay Leshchenko, Mikhail Gordeev and Dmitriy Ravnushkin. Gordeev and Ravnushkin were detained at their workplaces; after being interrogated by the FSB, the latter was fired from the post of chief power engineer. The believers were accused of organizing the activity of an extremist organization and they were placed under a recognizance agreement. In October 2021, the case went to court. Some documents, dated 1990-2000, had nothing to do with the case. And the testimonies of witnesses for the prosecution were favorable toward the defendants. Despite this, in July 2023, the court fined the four believers: Maksim Amosov, Nikolay Leshchenko, and Dmitriy Ravnushkin, each the amount of 500,000 rubles, and Mikhail Gordeev, 450,000 rubles.