Filatov Sergey

Name: Filatov Sergey Viktorovich
Date of Birth: June 6, 1972
Current status: main sentence served
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 82 day in a pre-trial detention, 2067 day in prison
Current restrictions: restriction of freedom
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for 6 years with deprivation of the right to engage in educational activities, activities related to speeches and publications in the media, post materials in information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet for a period of 5 years and with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year with serving the main sentence in a penal colony of general regime
Released: January 21, 2026

Biography

One of the largest in the history of modern Russia special operations against the believers was held at night of 15 to 16 November 2018 in Dzhankoy (Crimea). More than 200 FSB and police officers stormed at least 8 houses of local residents, knocking down doors. Four buses and several service cars approached the house of Sergey Filatov. After the search and questioning, a criminal case was opened against him. On March 5, 2020 the court sentenced a believer to 6 years in prison.

Sergey was born in 1972 in the village of Privolnoye, Kherson region of Ukraine. His parents still live there, while Sergey moved to Crimea as an adult. He has two sisters. As a child, he was fond of soccer, basketball and stamp collecting. He graduated from college as an electrician. He worked as an electrician, mechanic, plumber, master of finishing works.

In 1995 Sergey married Natalya, thanks to whom he got acquainted with biblical teachings. Natalya was very worried about her father's death, and she was deeply affected by the doctrine of resurrection of the dead. She began to share with her husband what she learned from the Bible. "I was struck by the fact that I can live as Jehovah wants me to, that is, to live right, - says Sergey. - As if the scales from my eyes, I understood what the truth is".

Soon, both spouses began to pay much more attention to the spiritual, to communicate with like-minded people. They have four children, whom they try to raise in accordance with Christian commandments. In 2003, the whole family moved to Dzhankoy to take care of their sick daughter.

Sergey's relatives, who do not share his religious views, are very worried and can not understand how for faith in God one could send a man to prison for long 6 years.

Case History

Sergey Filatov, a father of four, lived a quiet life in Dzhankoy, to which he had moved from the Kherson Region to care for his ailing daughter. One autumn evening in 2018, during a large-scale raid by the security forces, his home was stormed by an armed special-forces unit. Law-enforcement authorities deemed that this family man was “undermining the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state.” Notably, there were no victims in the criminal case; a law-enforcement officer served as a prosecution witness, and as “experts” the investigators enlisted the rector of an Orthodox church and a local resident, Aleksey Voznyak, who had “a university degree in the specialty of ‘religious studies.’” In March 2020, the believer was sentenced to six years in a correctional colony. Filatov was released in January 2026.
Timeline
Back to top