Name: Pyzhov Leonid Vyacheslavovich
Date of Birth: September 14, 1973
Current status: accused
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 174 day in a pre-trial detention, 42 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: house arrest

Biography

An ordinary resident of Omsk, Leonid Pyzhov, worked in a social taxi, a service that deals with free or preferential transportation of the poor and those who cannot move independently. As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, he also talked to others about the Bible, for which he was prosecuted.

Leonid was born in 1973 in the city of Kurgan. He has a younger brother and sister. Their mother is now retired and lives alone.

In his youth, Leonid was fond of various types of martial arts. After school, he studied at a construction college as a mechanic. Before his arrest, already in Omsk, where he moved with his wife, he worked as a social taxi driver and manager of a pick-up point.

Leonid likes to do things with his own hands, such as carpentry, growing plants. He had a plan to build a house.

Even in his youth, Leonid was interested in questions about God and Jesus Christ. After reading the Gospels on his own, he concluded that in order to be a disciple of Jesus, you need to share with others what you have learned. One day, Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on Leonid's door and invited him to study the Bible. In it, he found answers to his questions. In 1995, Leonid became one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Leonid met his future wife Tatyana among his fellow believers. They got married in 1996.

In March 2024, their home was searched. Leonid was detained and placed first in a temporary detention center, and then in a pre-trial detention center According to Tatyana, parting with her husband is a great grief for her.

Relatives worry about Leonid and are waiting for him to return home. They speak of him as a loving person, far from violence and extremism. According to them, Leonid is being persecuted only because he believes in God and reads the Bible.

Case History

In March 2024, law enforcement officers in Omsk conducted searches in the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses, dozens of believers were interrogated. During the searches, Sergey Rygaev and Leonid Pyzhov were beaten. The men were placed in a pre-trial detention center. For reading the Bible with friends, they were accused of organizing the activity of an extremist organization. In August of the same year, Sergey and Leonid were transferred to house arrest.