Name: Ushakhin Sergey Vitaliyevich
Date of Birth: September 5, 1961
Current status: convicted posthumously
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Sentence: find him guilty, terminate the criminal prosecution in connection with the death
Died during prosecution

Biography

In March 2021, searches were carried out in the homes of residents in Syktyvkar. Sergey Ushakhin, a group II disabled person who sufferes from insulin-dependent diabetes, was detained and later released under recognizance agreement. The criminal prosecution seriously affected the health of his wife Natalya, as well as his own. In August 2023, his condition deteriorated dramatically and he passed away.

Sergey was born in September 1961 in the urban-type settlement of Pinyug (Kirov region). The family moved to Syktyvkar when he was two years old and lived here all his life.

In his youth, Sergey was a weightlifter. After school, he received a secondary technical education. From 1980 to 1982 he served in the army. Sergey worked as a chauffeur, locksmith, turner, apparatus operator for the preparation of raw materials at the Syktyvkar timber industry complex.

In 1987, Sergey married Natalya. They raised two children—son Ruslan and daughter Tatyana. Together with his wife, Sergey began to study the Bible many years ago. They became Christians and instilled an interest in the spiritual things in their children. Natalya, Ruslan and Tatyana are outraged that the authorities accused a peaceful person of a serious crime.

Case History

In March 2021, searches were carried out at the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Syktyvkar. Sergey Ushakhin, Andrey Kharlamov, Aleksandr Ketov and Aleksandr Kruglyakov ended up in a temporary detention facility. The investigation initiated a criminal case against them and Lidiya Nekrasova, accusing the believers of organizing the activities of an extremist organization and participating in it. Sergey, a disabled person of group II, and elderly Lidiya ended up with recognizance agreements. Kharlamov and Ketov were under house arrest, and Kruglyakov was in custody for 2 months. Later, Ketov and Kruglyakov were transferred to a ban on certain actions. After a year of investigation, the case went to court. The charge was drawn up with violations of the law, no facts of extremism were revealed, and the judge returned the case to the prosecutor. In January 2023, it was again in court. After six months of hearings, Sergey Ushakhin’s condition deteriorated sharply, and he died. In November 2025, the court imposed fines on the believers: Nekrasova—300,000, Kruglyakov —470,000, Ketov and Kharlamov—500,000 rubles each.
Back to top