Name: Shidlovskiy Oleg Grigoriyevich
Date of Birth: February 25, 1969
Current status: main sentence served
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 893 day in a pre-trial detention, 1030 day in prison
Current restrictions: restriction of freedom
Sentence: punishment in the form of 6 years 6 months of imprisonment with serving in a penal colony of general regime, with deprivation of the right to engage in organizational activities in public and religious associations and organizations, for a period of 5 years, with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year
Released: November 14, 2025

Biography

Oleg Shidlovskiy is a school physical education teacher from the city of Gukovo. Colleagues and neighbors know him as a decent family man and a law-abiding citizen. However, in August 2020, he was arrested and sent to a pre-trial detention center only because of his faith in Jehovah God. In September 2022, the court sentenced him to 6.5 years in a penal colony.

Oleg was born in 1969 in the village of Gornyatskiy (Rostov Region). He has a younger brother. Throughout his childhood and youth, Oleg was fond of sports, especially basketball. He studied at a sports school and successfully participated in many competitions and tournaments.

After school, Oleg graduated from the Pedagogical Institute, having received the specialty of a physical education teacher. Since 1992, he has worked as a teacher at the Gukovo school.

While still a student, Oleg got acquainted with the Holy Scriptures. He liked the simple and straightforward teachings of the Bible and decided to live up to what he learned.

In 1998, Oleg married Nataliya, who shares his love for God and biblical principles. The couple had two daughters.

After the arrest of his father, the family was left without a breadwinner. The stress experienced during the search had a serious impact on Nataliya's health. The parents of the couple were depressed because the believer had been unfairly persecuted. In November 2025, Oleg Shidlovskiy was released after almost 5.5 years behind bars.

Case History

In August 2020, law enforcement officers conducted searches of the homes of residents of Gukovo. The Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Aleksey Dyadkin, Vladimir Popov, Yevgeniy Razumov, Aleksey Gorely, Nikita Moiseyev, and Oleg Shidlovskiy. The peaceful believers were charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization. Since August 2020, they were held in a pretrial detention center. It later became known that they were under surveillance by an undercover FSB agent. In November 2021, the case went to court. Religious scholars confirmed that the men were tried solely for peaceful religious actions. In September 2022, the court sentenced Gorely and Shidlovskiy to 6.5 years, and the other believers to 7 years in a general regime penal colony. The court of appeal and the court of cassation upheld this decision. In November 2025, Shidlovskiy and Gorely were released; in May 2026, Moiseyev, Razumov, and Popov; and in June 2026, Aleksey Dyadkin.
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