Ushakhin Sergey

Updated: April 25, 2024
Name: Ushakhin Sergey Vitaliyevich
Date of Birth: September 5, 1961
Current status: Defendant
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Died while under investigation

Biography

In March 2021, searches were carried out in the homes of residents in Syktyvkar. Sergey Ushakhin, a group II disabled person who sufferes from insulin-dependent diabetes, was detained and later released under recognizance agreement. The criminal prosecution seriously affected the health of his wife Natalya, as well as his own. In August 2023, his condition deteriorated dramatically and he passed away.

Sergey was born in September 1961 in the urban-type settlement of Pinyug (Kirov region). The family moved to Syktyvkar when he was two years old and lived here all his life.

In his youth, Sergey was a weightlifter. After school, he received a secondary technical education. From 1980 to 1982 he served in the army. Sergey worked as a chauffeur, locksmith, turner, apparatus operator for the preparation of raw materials at the Syktyvkar timber industry complex.

In 1987, Sergey married Natalya. They raised two children—son Ruslan and daughter Tatyana. Together with his wife, Sergey began to study the Bible many years ago. They became Christians and instilled an interest in the spiritual things in their children. Natalya, Ruslan and Tatyana are outraged that the authorities accused a peaceful person of a serious crime.

Case History

In March 2021, massive searches of Jehovah’s Witnesses took place in Syktyvkar. Sergey Ushakhin, Andrey Kharlamov, Aleksandr Ketov and Aleksandr Kruglyakov were placed in a temporary detention facility. The Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against them and Lidiya Nekrasova, accusing the believers of organizing the activities of an extremist organization and participating in it. Sergey, 60, a group II disabled person, and Lydia, 68, were under recognizance agreement. Kharlamov and Ketov found themselves under house arrest, and Kruglyakov — in custody for two months. Later, for Ketov and Kruglyakov, the preventive measure was changed to prohibition of certain actions. After a year, the case went to trial. Since the charges were drawn up in violation of the law and no facts of extremism were identified, the judge returned the case to the prosecutor. In January 2023, it was back in court. In August 2023, Sergey Ushakhin’s condition suddenly deteriorated, and he died.
Timeline