Yuri Krutyakov
Yuri Krutyakov, born 1952, Moscow Oblast. Charges: Article 282.2 part 1, Russian Criminal Code (Organization of the activities of an extremist organization); Article 282.2 part 1.1, Russian Criminal Code (Involvement of a person in the activities of an extremist organization); Article 282.2 part 2, Russian Criminal Code (Participation in the activities of an extremist organization); “The case of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Moscow region”. Sentence (May 23, 2021): six years' imprisonment suspended with a probationary period of five years. Status: at large. Recognition: Memorial Human Rights Centre — recognised as unlawfully deprived of liberty for exercising freedom of religion, April 5, 2020.
In brief
Moscow Oblast · Podolsk · Manual workers · Extremism cases, Cases against Jehovah's Witnesses
Sentence
6 years
six years' imprisonment suspended with a probationary period of five years
Upheld January 12, 2022
Charges
- Article 282.2 part 1, Russian Criminal Code — Organization of the activities of an extremist organization
- Article 282.2 part 1.1, Russian Criminal Code — Involvement of a person in the activities of an extremist organization
- Article 282.2 part 2, Russian Criminal Code — Participation in the activities of an extremist organization
Full wording of the charges
as the leader of a cell of an extremist organisation, he involved his wife and three other people, asking them to "get acquainted with brochures, video and audio materials".
Latest event
August 7, 2026 — removed from the rosfinmonitoring list
Recognition by rights defenders
- Recognised as unlawfully deprived of liberty for exercising freedom of religion — Memorial Human Rights Centre, April 5, 2020
Timeline
· Removed from the Rosfinmonitoring list
· Cassation ruling
upheld
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 6 years
· Added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of “terrorists and extremists”
· Preventive measure: pre-trial detention
Pre-trial Detention Centre №3 (SIZO-3) of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation for the Moscow Oblast
· Recognised as unlawfully deprived of liberty for exercising freedom of religion
Memorial Human Rights Centre
· Persecution begins
The case of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Moscow region
Criminal case
The case of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Moscow region
Other defendants in the case
- Konstantin Zherebtsov — At large, 2 years 2 months
- Zinaida Krutyakova — At large, 2 years 3 months
- Vitaly Nikiforov — At large, 2 years
Thematic group: The case of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Moscow region
Details and sources
Full summary
On 1 October 2019, it was reported that on 30 September the activity of a cell of Jehovah's Witnesses in Podolsk, headed by Krutyakov, was suppressed. A case of participation in the activities of an extremist organisation was opened, Krutyakov was put on the wanted list. In March 2020 Krutyakov appeared before the Investigative Committee, and on 5 March the court decided to take him into custody.
On 24 May 2021, he was sentenced to six years' suspended sentence.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
Other people prosecuted under Article 282.2 part 1, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.