Updated: April 17, 2024
Name: Vladimirova Valentina Ivanovna
Date of Birth: April 15, 1956
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 188 day in a pre-trial detention, 859 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: Recognizance agreement
Sentence: punishment in the form of 2 years of imprisonment with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year, punishment in the form of imprisonment shall be considered conditional

Biography

One of the May days of 2019 began for 63-year-old (at that time) Valentina Vladimirova with a search and detention. The pensioner was interrogated for about 14 hours, which increased her blood pressure. She became so ill that she had to call an ambulance. This did not prevent law enforcement officers from sending Valentina to a temporary detention center, and later to a pre-trial detention center, where the believer spent six months.

Valentina was born in 1956 in the city of Demidov (Smolensk region). In her youth, she was fond of sports - she played volleyball, and also loved to sing and read. After school there, in Demidov, she graduated from the "Technical School of Industry Technologies" and received the specialty "hydraulic technician". She worked in the technical departments of the Central Bank, Agroprombank and Rosselkhozbank in Smolensk, carried out audits of construction organizations.

God's promises to restore paradise on earth, which Valentina learned from the Holy Scriptures, deeply touched her and prompted her to become a Christian.

Now Valentina is on a well-deserved rest and lives in Smolensk. She has two adult children, a daughter and a son. Criminal prosecution, detention, house arrest — all this shattered the already poor health of the believer. Her chronic diseases worsened and hypertensive crises became more frequent.

Case History

In May 2019, the Ministry of Internal Affairs opened a criminal case for faith against pensioners from Smolensk Valentina Vladimirova and Tatyana Galkevich. The women were accused of “participating in joint prayers to Jehovah and discussing interpretations of the Bible,” which the investigation interprets as participation in extremist activities. Their homes were searched, and women were taken into custody. Galkevich spent six months behind bars and about nine months under house arrest. Vladimirova also spent six months in a pre-trial detention center, and then almost 2.5 years under house arrest. In October 2020, the case went to court, but it was immediately returned to the prosecutor. The religious expertise of the case was carried out by a graduate of the Orthodox Theological Academy. After 2 months, the retrial of the case began, but in March 2022 it was returned to the prosecutor’s office for revision. In April 2023, the case went to court again, and in February 2024, a sentence of 2 years suspended was passed.