Name: Prokhorov Nikolay Vladimirovich
Date of Birth: April 19, 1964
Current status: defendant
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Current restrictions: recognizance agreement

Biography

December 2020 was a particularly difficult period in the life of Nikolay Prokhorov: he lost his mother, and 10 days later his house was searched. In his youth, Nikolay dreamed of a just world and believed in the ideals of communism, in which he soon became disillusioned, but later found a firm hope for the future thanks to the Bible. Paradoxically, it was precisely because of his love for the Holy Scriptures that the believer found himself under investigation.

Nikolaiy was born in March 1964 in the village of Morshan in the Kirsanovsky District of the Tambov Region into a simple working-class family. In 1985 he graduated from the Nizhny Novgorod Higher Anti-Aircraft Missile Command School of Air Defense and entered the army. He served in the Moscow region and in the Far North. In 1993 he quit his job and moved to Sevastopol, where he took up business.

In 2000, Nikolay met his future wife Yelena, who worked in an atelier. In 2005, they moved to Kirsanov to care for Nikolay's mother, and in 2008 they got married after learning about Bible norms regarding marriage. “I began to study the Bible because of the behavior of Jehovah's Witnesses, which was very different from what I had experienced before. I realized that I had found the truth, ”says Nikolay. Since 2008 he has been a committed Christian.

The couple raised two children: son Vasiliy and daughter Alyona, who already live separately. The daughter works in a web design studio, the son is in college. Nikolay is fond of swimming and making herbal preparations, Yelena loves to cook. Also, the spouses travel with pleasure and watch biathlon competitions.

Because of the criminal case, Nikolay lost his job, and the family was left without the main income. The man worked for 15 years at the Kirsanov Electric Networks enterprise, from where he was dismissed the next day after the search. Colleagues wonder why a peaceful, responsible employee is accused of organizing extremist activities only because of his convictions. Nikolay's relatives are also outraged by the unfair accusations against him.

Case History

In December 2020, the Investigative Committee opened criminal cases for their faith against Anton Kuzhelkov and Nikolay Prokhorov. On the same day, the cases were merged into one proceeding. The security forces conducted searches at 19 addresses of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kirsanov, as well as at Kuzhelkov’s place of actual residence in the city of Lukhovitsy (Moscow Region). Nikolay signed a recognizance agreement. Anton was placed in a pre-trial detention center, where he stayed for 430 days, after which he was released under a ban on certain actions. In September 2021, the case went to court, and in December 2023, a new judge began to consider it again.