Name: Romanov Sergey Aleksandrovich
Date of Birth: October 15, 1975
Current status: defendant
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, 242 day in a pre-trial detention
Current restrictions: recognizance agreement

Biography

Sergey Romanov found out that a criminal case had been opened against him for his faith when law enforcement officers raided his home. He was detained and later taken 6,500 kilometers away, from the Volgograd Region to Anadyr (Chukotka Autonomous Region), where he was first placed in a pre-trial detention center, and then under recognizance agreement.

Sergey was born in October 1975 in the village of Bukachacha (Trans-Baikal Territory). He has an elder sister. Their parents divorced when Sergey was 11. His mother is retired, she is a disabled person of the III group.

As a child, Sergey loved to read, play chess, and ride a bicycle. After school, he received a degree in radio engineering at a vocational lyceum. He worked as an electrician in a boiler room, a home appliance repairman, a watchman, and an administrator in a hotel. Sergey still loves books and chess, and he also likes to learn something new about animal life and natural phenomena.

In the early 1990s, Sergey got acquainted with the Bible. He was impressed by the fulfillment of the prophecies in this book, the explanation of the origin of life, and the factual accuracy of the Holy Scriptures, so in 1993 he decided to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

At different times, Sergey lived in Chukotka, in the Irkutsk and Kemerovo regions, in Moscow, and at the time of the searches he lived in the Volgograd region.

The criminal case and the recognizance agreement separated Sergey from his family and deprived him of the opportunity to help them in everyday matters. Family and friends are worried about the believer. They do not understand how such a calm, kind person can be considered a criminal.

Case History

In May 2023, the FSB in Anadyr initiated a criminal case for his faith against Sergey Romanov. He was accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. A month later, in another city, in the apartment where Sergey was staying, a search was carried out. The man was detained and sent to a pre-trial detention center in Volgograd and then transferred to Anadyr. After 8 months of imprisonment, the believer was released on a recognizance agreement. There are at least two secret witnesses in the Romanov case, and the believer was under covert surveillance for about two years. His name was included in the Rosfinmonitoring list. In December 2025, the case went to court.
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