Updated: May 3, 2024
Name: Bochko Yevgeniy Viktorovich
Date of Birth: April 19, 1975
Current status: Defendant
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Current restrictions: Prohibition of certain actions

Biography

In February 2022, Yevgeniy Bochko became a suspect in a criminal case on extremism only because of his belief in Jehovah God. He was searched, which caused bouts of chronic illness in a believer who is on disability.

Yevgeniy was born in April 1975 in the village of Novoberezanskiy, Krasnodar Territory. He is the only child in the family, his mother raised him alone.

As a child, Yevgeniy was fond of studying insects, collecting stamps. He liked to repeat the experiments he had seen at physics and chemistry lessons at home, to examine objects under a microscope. In high school, he became interested in electronics, assembled a random number generator.

In 1996, Yevgeniy graduated from the Krasnodar Engineering College. After that, he worked as an electrician, an engineer for maintenance of instrumentation and automation of gas equipment. Currently unemployed for health reasons.

Yevgeniy recalls: “Childhood was difficult. There was no one to rely on, except God, I prayed from childhood. So when they offered to study the Bible, I immediately agreed.” Eugene found answers to his questions and in 1998 embarked on the Christian path.

Yevgeniy got married in 2009. His wife Anna is a housewife. For several years the couple lived in the city of Marks (Saratov region), later returned to Vyselki, and then settled in the village of Buzinovskaya.

In their free time, the couple take care of the garden and vegetable garden together. The Bochcos love animals: they have a cat, who, according to Yevgeniy, likes to listen to music, and two dogs.

The criminal prosecution has radically changed the lives of believers. Yevgeniy had to call an ambulance, as the stress he had experienced greatly affected his already poor health.

Relatives and friends are perplexed because of what is happening. The villagers began to treat Yevgeny with more respect.

Case History

In February 2022, more than 30 searches took place in the Kuban. Five believers from the village of Vyselki — Vitaliy Ushakov, Yevgeny Bochko, Valery Vechkaev, pensioner Vladimir Kolesnikov and disabled person of group I Alexei Shubnikov, confined to a wheelchair from his youth — became defendants in a criminal case. The Investigative Committee accused the believers of organizing the activities of an extremist community. In reality, the believers participated in peaceful worship services that were not prohibited by law. Ushakov was placed in a pre-trial detention center, where he spent almost 7 months, after which he was placed under house arrest for 1 month, and then under a ban on certain actions. Bochko, Vechkayev, Kolesnikov and Shubnikov were banned from certain actions. In June 2023, the case went to the district court.