Burkov Mikhail

Name: Burkov Mikhail Ivanovich
Date of Birth: September 6, 1983
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 137 day in a pre-trial detention, 1164 day in prison
Sentence: punishment in the form of 6 years and 1 month of imprisonment to be served in a penal colony of general regime, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to management and participation in the work of public organizations for a term of 4 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year
Term of imprisonment: until March 2029
Currently held in: Correctional Colony № 14, Khabarovsk Territory

Burkov Mikhail Ivanovich, born 1983, Correctional Colony № 14, Khabarovsk Territory, shosse Mashinostroiteley, 10, Amursk, Khabarovsk Territory, 682640

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the ZT system.

Parcels and parcels should not be sent because of the limit on their number per year.

Note: discussing topics related to criminal prosecution is not allowed in letters; languages other than Russian will not pass.

Biography

Mikhail Burkov, one of Jehovah's Witnesses from Tynda, charged with extremist activity in 2019, was sentenced to 6 years in a penal colony in 2024.

Mikhail was born in September 1983 in Araslanovo, Chelyabinsk Region, into a large family. He has four brothers and two sisters. As a child, he liked growing indoor plants and during his school years, he took up repairing electric household appliances and mechanical watches. Later he graduated from the railway technical college. Mikhail's family — parents and elder brothers — was somewhat problematic, so at the first opportunity, Burkov left home for Tynda.

Until his arrest, Mikhail worked as a carpenter for the city administration. In his free time, he was happy to help his friends: he fixed refrigerators and washing machines.

In the early 2000s, Mikhail got acquainted with the Bible. He was amazed at the accuracy of the description of the physical laws and information about the earth, even though this book is not a scientific work. At the age of 23, he decided to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Later, when they began to summon the believer for interrogations, his colleagues were very surprised: "This is a mistake, how can you be an extremist!" In his final statement, Mikhail Burkov emphasized: "I am on trial for learning to show positive qualities: kindness, peacefulness, compassion, patience, respect for the feelings of others."

Case History

In 2018, in Tynda, FSB agent Nurakov, feigning an interest in the Bible, began attending meetings for worship of Jehovah’s Witnesses and collecting information about them. In November 2019, a criminal case was initiated against Sergey Yuferov, Valeriy Slashchev, Mikhail Burkov and Vladimir Bukin. A wave of searches took place in the town. The men were charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization and involving others in it. In June 2021, the case went to court. A year and a half later, the believers were sentenced from 6 years and 2 months to 6.5 years in a penal colony. In December 2022, the court of appeal overturned the verdict and sent the case for a new trial, and the believers were released from the pretrial detention center, where they had each spent 2 months. In June 2023, they were again sentenced to penal colonies: Bukin and Slashchev were given 6 years and 4 months each, Yuferov — 6 years and 3 months, and Burkov — 6 years and 1 month. Another court of appeal upheld this decision in August 2023. In May 2024, the court of cassation confirmed the verdict for all four Jehovah’s Witnesses from Tynda.
Timeline
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