Petrov Igor

Name: Petrov Igor Vladimirovich
Date of Birth: August 24, 1969
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.3 (1), 282.2 (1)
Current restrictions: suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of 6 years 5 months of imprisonment, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public organizations for a period of 3 years, with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year, punishment in the form of imprisonment shall be considered conditional with a probationary period of 3 years 6 months

Biography

On February 15, 2019, one of the most massive and inhuman operations against believers took place in Surgut and several other cities of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. 7 people reported torture, 3 people were in custody for a long time, and the total number of defendants in criminal cases exceeded 20. One of them is Igor Petrov. What do we know about him?

Igor was born in 1969 in the village of Turdakovo (Poretsky district of the Chuvash Republic). The oldest child in the family, he has a brother and sister. He spent his childhood in the city of Shymkent (Kazakhstan). Igor loved to carve wood and sew clothes. He was educated as a cabinetmaker and furniture maker. In 1994 he moved to the city of Surgut (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug) in search of work. There he worked hard as a carpenter, mason. Now he works as a forklift driver at Surgutneftegaz.

A few years after the move, Igor met his future wife, Larisa. The young people were deeply touched by the beauty and practicality of life-changing biblical principles. Soon they were both determined to live as the Scriptures taught. Igor and Larisa got married in 2001, two years later a son, Matvey, was born in the family. The couple love to spend time with their teenage son, play board games, relax in nature, travel.

When Igor's mother found out that a criminal case had been opened against her son because of his faith, she was extremely outraged and upset. It is difficult for her to understand how such terrible accusations could fall on a simple, kind and hardworking person.

Case History

In February 2019, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiated a criminal case against 18 men and 1 woman from Surgut (among them was a person mistaken for one of Jehovah’s Witnesses). Their homes were searched. During the interrogations, 7 believers were subjected to violence. Artur Severinchik was sent to a pretrial detention center for 29 days, while Yevgeniy Fedin and Sergey Loginov — for 56 days. Timofey Zhukov was unlawfully placed in a psychiatric hospital for 14 days. The believers filed complaints about the use of torture with the Investigative Committee, the ECHR and the Human Rights Ombudsman; a press conference was held with the participation of human rights activists, but none of the law enforcement officers was brought to justice. In October 2021, the case materials went to court. Two years later, the court gave all of the believers suspended sentences ranging from 4 to 7 years. In February 2025, the court of appeal upheld this decision.
Timeline
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