Name: Stupnikov Andrey Garafetanovich
Date of Birth: September 17, 1973
Current status: main sentence served
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 335 day in a pre-trial detention, 124 day Under house arrest, 1561 day in prison
Current restrictions: restriction of freedom
Sentence: imprisonment for 6 years, with deprivation of the right to engage in organizational activities in public and religious associations, public and religious organizations, for a term of 3 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year, imprisonment to be served in a general regime penal colony
Released: December 15, 2025

Biography

In the summer of 2018, Andrey Stupnikov was detained at the Krasnoyarsk airport. He was taken into custody on charges of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. After 3 years, the court sentenced the believer to 6 years in a penal colony. He was released in December 2025, having served his term in full.

Andrey was born in 1973 in Norilsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory), at the age of 5 he moved with his parents to the city of Grozny (Chechnya). Later he lived in Stavropol and Krasnoyarsk. He has a younger sister. As a child, Andrey was actively involved in sports and attended a theater club. The young man graduated with a degree in oil and gas drilling engineering.

Even in his youth, Andrey began to think about God. His family lived in Grozny during the hostilities of 1994--1996. As he watched these events, he began to ponder the questions of why this was happening and what to do to receive protection from God. He realized that today the prophecies of the Bible are being fulfilled, and the advice in this book provides the best guidance in any situation.

In 1993, Andrey married Olga, whom he met in a hospital in Grozny, where she worked as a nurse. The spouses love art, history, and theater, and are often in nature.

Case History

In July 2018, FSB officers arrested engineer Andrey Stupnikov at the Krasnoyarsk airport. The next day, an investigator initiated a criminal case under an article for extremism against him for reading the Bible and praying together with friends — the first in the region. He spent 337 days in a pretrial detention center, 124 days under house arrest and about 2 years under a ban on certain actions. In February 2020, Andrey Stupnikov’s case went to court, and in June 2021 he was sentenced to 6 years in penal colony. The court of appeal upheld this verdict, and the believer was sent to a penal colony in the Kirov Region to serve his sentence. In August 2022, the court of cassation upheld the decision of the court of appeal. In December 2025, Andrey was released, having fully served the sentence imposed.
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