Name: Yevtushenko Anatoliy Fedorovich
Date of Birth: May 21, 1971
Current status: accused
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Current restrictions: recognizance agreement

Biography

In the summer of 2024, Anatoliy Yevtushenko, a driver from Krasnodar, was summoned to an investigator and placed on recognizance agreement. That's how he found out that a criminal case had been opened against him for his faith.

Anatoliy was born in May 1971 in Ipatovo (Stavropol Territory). He has a brother on his mother's side and two sisters on his father's side. When the boy was 3 years old, his parents divorced, and he moved with his mother to Batumi (Georgia). He spent his childhood there. He was fond of swimming, athletics and rowing.

In 1988, after studying at school, Anatoliy went to the Crimea, where he graduated with honors, having received the specialty of cook. Immediately after that, he was drafted into the army. Anatoliy served in Germany, and then moved to Krasnodar and got a job as a cook in a river shipping company. Later, he mastered the profession of carpenter in the furniture industry, and then decided to try himself in the construction industry and acquired many different skills in this field. Over time, due to the injury, the man took up private transportation. His favorite route is the Sochi serpentines.

In 1997, Anatoliy married Irina. Their first child died a month and a half after birth. A year later, the couple had a daughter. She is already married and lives separately. Anatoliy's mother, a disabled person of group I, is in the care of the Yevtushenko spouses. She has not been out of bed for several years and needs constant care.

It was thanks to his mother that Anatoliy got acquainted with the Bible. She instilled in her son respect for this book, which she herself had read more than once. Anatoliy and his mother attended meetings for worship of different denominations in search of answers to their spiritual questions. In 1998, they met Jehovah's Witnesses and began studying the Bible. The following year, Anatoliy took the Christian path. He recalls: "It amazed me that God has a name, as well as a logical explanation for the cause of our suffering, and, of course, the hope for the resurrection of people dear to our hearts."

In 2006, Anatoliy had an accident, seriously injured his leg, and over time he developed osteoarthritis and coxarthrosis. In August 2024, the believer received group II disability and needs hip replacement surgery. He still loves to cook, watch cooking programs, and works in the garden with his wife.

Yevtushenko's house was first searched in 2022. The first few months were emotionally difficult. To support himself, the believer visited fellow believers who found themselves in similar circumstances. "So, when I was handed a decision to open a criminal case and a recognizance not to leave, I took it calmly," he recalls.

Case History

Anatoliy Yevtushenko was prosecuted in January 2022 when his house was searched. Two and a half years later, the FSB opened a criminal case against him for participating in the activities of an extremist organization—this is how the investigation interprets the peaceful meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses. A recognizance agreement was taken from the believer.