Leonid Pyzhov
- Criminal Code
- Article 282.2 part 1, Russian Criminal Code
- Case category
- Extremism casesCases against Jehovah's Witnesses
- Verdict
- Compulsory labour
- Date of verdict
- 2026-04-29
- Region
- Omsk Oblast
- City
- Omsk
Recognition by human rights organisations
- Recognised as unlawfully deprived of liberty for exercising freedom of religionby Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners
This is the assessment of the organisation named above, not ours. FACTUM reports it with attribution and does not make its own.
Case summary
Resident of Omsk. On 4 March 2024, a search was conducted at his home as part of a case concerning the organisation of an extremist group, linked to his involvement with the Jehovah’s Witnesses community. The following day, Pyzhov was taken into custody. On 26 August 2024, he was transferred to house arrest. On 24 February 2025, his preventive measure was changed to a restriction on certain actions.
Members of this community are persecuted under extremist statutes exclusively for religious activities: meetings, joint worship services, and attracting new followers.
Others charged under Article 282.2 part 1, Russian Criminal Code
What we write about political persecution
Recent material from this section. This is section navigation — the articles below are not about this person.
- 2026-09-04Georgia court clears extradition of Fugal ally to Russia
- 2026-09-04Russia labels Novaya Gazeta a 'foreign agent,' adds over 100 affiliated names
- 2026-09-04Russian court sentences hostage-takers from Rostov detention center to up to 29 years
- 2026-09-04Two Yabloko Duma candidates detained in Moscow two days before vote
- 2026-09-03British man says Russian police beat him, jumped on his head at station in Yessentuki
Source: this person’s record in the OVD-Info political persecution database
Published under CC BY 3.0. The criteria for treating a person as politically persecuted belong to OVD-Info; FACTUM relays their assessment and makes none of its own.
OVD-Info has been designated an «extremist» organisation in Russia — by decision of the Russian authorities, like other independent human rights and media projects.