Biography
Ivan Starikov was born in January 1975 in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. He lived in Krasnoyarsk and Uyar. His parents worked in a factory; now they are retired. As a child, Ivan studied piano at a music school and was good at singing.
Ivan qualified as an electrician and gas welder and worked in this field at various enterprises and later as a mechanic. Before his arrest, he was self-employed and repaired shoes. He did not complete military service due to a spinal injury.
In the early 1990s, Ivan was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. In 2010, he married Yelena. Ivan has an adult daughter; his son died at the age of 9 from leukemia. The couple have no children together.
Case History
In October 2025, investigators from the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against two residents of the town of Uyar, Viktor Kononov and Aflatun Safarov. Their homes were searched, after which a court ordered that the elderly men be taken into custody. In February 2026, another man, Ivan Starikov, was placed in a pre-trial detention center but was soon transferred to house arrest. The investigation interpreted the holding of peaceful worship services as organizing the activities of an extremist organization and participating in it. In the spring of 2026, the court decided to place Ivan Starikov and Aflatun Safarov under house arrest.