Biography
In 2019, Ruslan Korolev was among the accused in a criminal case. He spent about 4 months in a pre-trial detention center. In 2021, the court sentenced the believer to 6.5 years of probation.
Ruslan was born in 1982 in Smolensk, where he lives all his life. He has a younger sister. As a child, Ruslan was fond of technology - he loved to disassemble and assemble televisions, radios, various electrical appliances. After graduating from school, he received the profession of an auto mechanic.
Friends know Ruslan as a modest and sympathetic person. He takes care of his mother, is always ready to help others and especially the elderly, with whom he easily finds a common language.
While serving in the army, Ruslan often became a victim of cruel and unfair treatment. He found solace in the Bible and in fellowship with Christians. The turning point in his life was 2004, when he decided to become a Christian.
Because of the criminal prosecution, Ruslan again had to face injustice, now on the part of the state. Ruslan's mother, his sister and her husband are outraged by the verdict and support it as best they can.
Case History
In April 2019, Jehovah’s Witnesses from Smolensk—Ruslan Korolev, Valery Shalev, and Viktor Malkov—were sent to jail. The day before, searches were carried out in their homes. Yevgeny Deshko was detained in Dagomys (Krasnodar Territory) as the fourth suspect in this criminal case. The believers spent 4 to 8 months in jail and another 3 to 7 months under house arrest. Due to the stress and conditions of detention in the pre-trial detention center, Viktor’s heart problems worsened, and he died without waiting for the trial. The criminal case under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was investigated by the FSB of Russia in the Smolensk Region. In the Industrial District Court of Smolensk, the prosecutor asked Judge Marina Masalskaya to send Shalev and Deshko to jail for 8 years, and Korolev for 9 years for discussing Christian teachings. In April 2021, a judge found them guilty, but sentenced them to suspended imprisonment ranging from 6 to 6.5 years. In August 2021, the Court of Appeal approved the punishment for the believers. The cassation court upheld the decisions of the lower courts.
