Updated: April 15, 2024
Name: Seredkin Aleksandr Ivanovich
Date of Birth: December 1, 1954
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 213 day in a pre-trial detention, 178 day Under house arrest, 304 day in prison
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 6 years, with deprivation of the right to engage in organizational activities in public or religious associations, public or religious organizations for a term of 5 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year
Currently held in: Penal Colony No. 5 in Altai Territory
Address for correspondence: Seredkin Aleksandr Ivanovich, born 1954, IK No. 5 in Altai Territory, ul. Traktornaya, 23, g. Rubtsovsk, Altai Territory, Russia, 658209

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the «zonatelecom».

Parcels and parcels should not be sent because of the limit on their number per year.

Note: discussing topics related to criminal prosecution is not allowed in letters; languages other than Russian will not pass.

Biography

In April 2019, in Novosibirsk, FSB officers broke into the homes of 12 citizens in order to stop the “activity of an extremist organization”—reading the Bible and praying. Aleksandr Seredkin was accused of organizing this activity and in November 2022 the court sentenced him to 6 years in a penal colony.

Aleksandr was born in 1954 in the village of Verkhniy Naimangut (Irkutsk Region) in a family of simple rural workers. His father worked as a combine operator and his mother worked as an assistant to a tractor driver. Aleksandr has a younger brother and sister. The family lost another daughter when she was only seven. Later, they moved to the city of Usolye-Sibirskoye.

As a child, Aleksandr was active - he played soccer, painted, read a lot and was interested in science. After graduating from the vocational technical college, he continued the family tradition and became a combine tractor operator. Later he worked as a driver.

The name of Aleksandr's wife is Svetlana. When the Seredkins retired, they decided to move to Novosibirsk. They raised two sons who became worthy members of society.

Since childhood, Aleksandr was interested in questions like: where did people come from? what is the purpose of life? what is the future of humankind? He found convincing answers  in the Bible, and for nearly 30 years along with his wife, has been living according to the commandments of this book.

Relatives and friends of Aleksandr are shocked by his criminal prosecution for his faith in God.

Case History

The criminal prosecution of Aleksandr Seredkin began in April 2019, when security forces invaded the homes of civilians. During the searches, law enforcement officers planted banned books on believers. As a result of the raid, the FSB opened a criminal case for organizing and participating in the activities of an extremist organization against three believers: Alexander Seredkin, Valery Maletskov and Marina Chaplykina. Later, Seredkin’s case was separated into a separate proceeding. The believer was included in the list of Rosfinmonitoring, which caused difficulties in obtaining a pension. Aleksandr spent a day in a temporary detention center and six months under house arrest. In March 2022, the case went to court. The accusation was based on the testimony of a secret witness who feigned an interest in the Bible and collaborated with the FSB. In November of the same year, the believer was sentenced to 6 years in a general regime colony and placed in a pre-trial detention center, and the appeal approved this sentence.