Updated: May 3, 2024
Name: Vigul Maksim Olegovich
Date of Birth: November 26, 1990
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)

Biography

In the spring of 2019, the joyful time of Maksim Vigul's preparations for the wedding was overshadowed by an unexpected invasion of the security forces into a number of houses of his friends and fellow believers. After 2 years, a criminal case was opened against the young head of the family only because of his faith in Jehovah God.

Maksim was born in November 1990 in Sharypovo (Krasnoyarsk Territory). The parents divorced, and the mother raised three sons alone, provided for the family by working as a nurse.

During his school years, Maksim was engaged in acrobatics, drawing and applied arts. In his spare time he played board games, read books and went hiking.

Maksim began distance learning at the Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics, but after a while he interrupted it due to family circumstances.

The first job was the Sharypov city newspaper, where Maksim was an advertising manager. After that he worked as a janitor and system administrator in a psycho-neurological boarding school. For the past few years, he has been working as an Internet network installer

Maksim was introduced to the Bible by his mother, who began to study this book back in the 1980s. He recalls: “Faith was built gradually, brick by brick. There are several particularly memorable aspects. For example, evidence for the authenticity of the biblical story of the Flood, and a wealth of archaeological evidence for the authenticity of the Bible. The existence of the Creator was convinced by the amazing complexity of the structure of the cell and the DNA code, which simply could not appear on their own. As a result, Maksim decided to take the Christian path.

In 2018, Maksim met Yuliya, a cutter by profession. From a young age, she appreciates Christian norms. In May 2019, young people got married.

Now Maksim, like in childhood, loves to read and play board games, and Yuliya is fond of photography. Together they often go to nature, play volleyball, table tennis with friends, and go skiing and skating.

The criminal prosecution affected the whole family: Yuliya sometimes wakes up at night or early in the morning waiting for the next search, Maksim's mother is also anxious. His father, although he does not share his son's religious views, was outraged to learn that Maksim was being persecuted for his faith. Colleagues and superiors are perplexed as to why this peaceful and hardworking person deserved such an attitude from the authorities.

Case History

A series of searches that took place in April 2019 in the town of Sharypovo affected several families of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Initially, the investigative actions were carried out in the framework of the case against Anton Ostapenko. After 2.5 years, the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Krasnoyarsk Territory opened a criminal case against 7 more male believers aged 29 to 73 years. Anatoliy Khvostov, Dmitry Gorelov, Maksim Vigul, Aleksandr Miroshnichenko, Eldar Mammadov, Vladimir Osintsev and Gennadiy Solomentsev are suspected of participating in the activities of an extremist organization. In May-June 2022, repeated searches were carried out at the homes of Vigul, Miroshnichenko, Osintsev and Khvostov.