Name: Shamov Aleksandr Petrovich
Date of Birth: November 4, 1960
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Sentence: penalty in the form of a fine in the amount of 420,000 rubles; provide an installment plan for payment of the imposed fine for 42 months

Biography

In March 2019, a criminal case was opened in Kirov against peaceful believers, searches were carried out. One of the accused was Aleksandr Shamov. The investigation lasted more than a year, then the case went to court. In July 2021, despite the absence of victims in the case, Shamov was found guilty of organizing extremist activity as well as financing it and sentenced to a large fine of 420,000 rubles just because of his faith in Jehovah God.

Aleksandr was born in 1960 in the village of Komarovo (Kirov region). The family had six children, Aleksandr's parents died early. From an early age he was accustomed to working in the field: already at the age of 6 he helped in haymaking, and as he grew older, he helped combine harvesters, milked cows, and procured forage. At the same time, the children managed to find time for games, and Aleksandr voraciously read books. He had to travel to school several kilometers away - by bike in summer, by ski in winter.

After leaving school, Aleksandr went to his relatives in Perm, where he graduated from a radio engineering school, after which he moved to the regional center of Kirov and got a job as a TV master. Now she is on a disability pension, recovering from a heart attack and heart surgery. It has become more difficult to play volleyball with friends, although he still tries to lead an active lifestyle.

In 1986, Aleksandr married Nadezhda, a clothing cutter by profession. In the 1990s, the couple became acquainted with Bible teachings that touched both of them vividly. They have an adult daughter, Anna.

According to Aleksandr, the news of his criminal prosecution came as a shock to his loved ones, from which they still cannot come to their senses. Former colleagues at work cannot believe that people are persecuted for their faith in our time.

Case History

In 2019, the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Kirov Region opened a criminal case for their faith against Alexander Shamov, Andrey Shchepin and Yevgeny Udintsev. The investigation interpreted joint worship services as organizing the activities of an extremist organization. The accusation was based on recordings of meetings of believers made by the FSB agent “Plastin”, who portrayed an interest in the Bible. Shchepin spent 2 days in the temporary detention center and more than 2 years under the ban on certain actions. Later, he, as well as Udintsev and Shamov, took a written undertaking not to leave. In June 2020, the case went to court. The prosecutor asked to appoint Shchepin and Shamov from 2 to 4 years in prison, and Udintsev - a large fine. In July 2021, the court imposed a monetary penalty on all three in the amount of 200,000 to 500,000 rubles. The appellate court, and then the cassation, upheld the verdict against the peaceful believers.