Biography
Valery Shalev is one of 5 Smolensk believers who ended up behind bars in April 2019 because of their religious views. The criminal prosecution lasted almost 2 years. During this time, Ruslan spent about 8 months in a pre-trial detention center and 3 months under house arrest. After a year of legal proceedings, the believer was found guilty. In April 2021, the court sentenced him to 6.5 years of suspended imprisonment with a probation period of 5 years, 1 year of restriction of liberty and a ban on holding positions in religious organizations for a period of 4 years.
Valery was born in 1977 in Yartsevo (Smolensk region). Since childhood, he read a lot, studied English, loved popular science TV shows, and also went in for sports. He graduated from the Yaroslavl Military Institute of Finance and Economics and went to the Far East to work as a military financier.
While studying at the university, Valeriy's mother shared biblical knowledge with her son. At first, Valery tried to prove them wrong, but later realized that his mother was right: the Bible is the truth. Thus began Valery's acquaintance with the Holy Book.
In 1999, Valery married Svetlana, whom he met while still a student, and adopted her 4-year-old son. For some time the family lived in Khabarovsk, where Valery did his military service. After his discharge from the army, he worked as a chief accountant for several companies, and more recently as a financial consultant and hiring specialist. Valeriy is still actively involved in football and running, improving his knowledge of the English language. Svetlana works as a manicure instructor, and in her free time she likes to make gifts for friends.
Valeriy's relatives and friends are perplexed by the fact that such law-abiding and decent people like him have begun to be persecuted in Russia. They sincerely hope for a positive outcome of the case.