Name: Deshko Vladimir Viktorovich
Date of Birth: January 29, 1967
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1.1), 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 313 day in a pre-trial detention, 54 day Under house arrest
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 1 year 4 months, with serving the sentence in a correctional colony of general regime; release from punishment in connection with the actual service

Biography

Vladimir Deshko was thrown into jail because of his faith in March 2021. A month later, his son, Yevgeniy, was sentenced to 6 years suspended sentence for discussing the Bible. Prior to that, he also spent several months behind bars.

Vladimir was born in January 1967 in the village of Girey, Krasnodar Territory. Later the family moved to Sochi. Since childhood, Vladimir was fond of repairing equipment, and also was engaged in boxing. He graduated from school with honors and entered the Higher Military Engineering School, but left his studies, as he realized that he was not ready to be a military man.

Over time, Vladimir received a driver's license of all categories and worked as a driver, and later as an electrician at an enterprise that installed alarm and video surveillance systems. After the arrest of his son in April 2019, he often traveled to Smolensk, hundreds of kilometers away. Therefore, the believer had to quit his permanent job and work for hire.

Vladimir served in the army in Murmansk, where he met his future wife, Yelena. They got married in 1988. The family had two children — a son and a daughter. The couple love to travel. As a rule, they spend their holidays in the Voronezh region, where Yelena's mother lives. In his free time, the head of the family continues to repair household appliances. Tourism is his hobby. Vladimir loves to pick mushrooms, walk in the forest and in the mountains, taking pictures of the beautiful nature.

Vladimir is an inquisitive person. He looked for answers to his questions in various sources, and found them in the Bible. In the early 1990s, Vladimir embarked on the Christian path. A few years later, his wife joined him, and later his son.

The criminal case against Vladimir was another blow to his loved ones, who are already worried about the persecution of Yevgeny. Vladimir's mother and daughter, who do not share his convictions, are outraged by what is happening. His wife Elena shares her support for her: “We understand that Bible prophecies are being fulfilled, and the time has come to glorify the name of God in such circumstances.”

Case History

In March 2021, Vladimir Deshko, Yuriy Loginsky, Yuriy Moskalyov and Tatyana Velizhanina were arrested for their belief in God. Officers of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Krasnodar Territory participated in the detention of Sochi residents. Two days later, the court ruled to detain Deshko and Velizhanina in a pre-trial detention center, and Loginsky and Moskalev under house arrest. For conversations about God with local residents, believers were accused of “involvement in the activities of an extremist organization.” Tatyana Velizhanina had covid in a pre-trial detention center. She and Deshko were placed under house arrest after 11 and 10 months in a pre-trial detention center, respectively. In February 2022, the criminal case was submitted to the Khostinsky District Court of Sochi, and it was appointed to Judge Konstantin Sidoruk. On March 28, 2022, he found the believers guilty and sentenced Velizhanina to 1 year and 5 months, and Deshko to 1 year and 4 months in prison, which they actually served. Moskalev and Loginskiy were sentenced to 2 years of suspended sentence without restriction of freedom with a probationary period of 2 years.