Protestant pastor Nikolay Romanyuk has become the first person to be convicted of "Public calls to implement activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation, or to obstruct the exercise by government bodies and their officials of their powers to ensure the security of the Russian Federation" for criticising Russia's war against Ukraine from a religious perspective. Others have been jailed on different specific charges for opposing Russia's war from a religious perspective.

On 3 September, Balashikha City Court in Moscow Region sentenced 63-year-old Pastor Romanyuk to 4 years' imprisonment in a general-regime labour camp, plus a 3-year ban on administering websites. Pastor Romanyuk intends to appeal to Moscow Regional Court, though his daughter states that "we all understand perfectly well that there will be no fundamental changes" (see below).

At present, Pastor Romanyuk remains in the pre-trial detention centre in Noginsk where he has spent the more than ten months since his arrest in October 2024 (see below).

Lawyer Anatoly Pchelintsev, who was representing a defence witness, called the sentence "unjustifiably cruel and unfair" (see below).

Specifically, prosecutors accused Pastor Romanyuk of calling on others to obstruct the work of military registration and enlistment offices in a sermon he gave at Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church in September 2022, on the first Sunday after the announcement of "partial mobilisation". In the sermon, which was livestreamed, Pastor Romanyuk said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was "not our war" (see below).

"We do not bless those who go there [to war]", Pastor Romanyuk continued. "[Those] who are taken by force, we do not bless them, but we pray that they are rescued from there. There are different legal ways to do this" (see below).

For this, investigators charged Pastor Romanyuk under Criminal Code Article 280.4 "Public calls to implement activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation, or to obstruct the exercise by government bodies and their officials of their powers to ensure the security of the Russian Federation", "with the use of his official position", and "with the use of mass media, or electronic, or information and telecommunication networks, including the internet" (Part 2, Paragraphs b and v) (see below).

"Yes, I gave a sermon in which I touched on military, albeit forced, murder. I do not retract what I said", Pastor Romanyuk said in his final speech to the court on 2 September. "I set forth my personal view and attitude towards the taking of a human life. This is my personal attitude as a clergyman. I do not retract my sermon" (see below).

Assistant chair of Balashikha City Court Olga Bystryakova did not answer Forum 18's questions:
- why the judge had imposed such a long jail sentence, particularly in light of Pastor Romanyuk's age and health problems;
- and why the peaceful expression of religious views on the war should be considered a threat to state security.
Bystryakova said only that a judge "is not obliged to give any explanations on the merits of cases considered or in progress" unless this is specified in law (see below).

Neither Moscow Region Prosecutor's Office nor Balashikha City Prosecutor's Office responded to Forum 18's questions:
- why they had sought such a long jail sentence, especially given Pastor Romanyuk's age and health issues;
- and why the peaceful expression of religious views on the war should be considered a threat to state security.

While arresting Pastor Romanyuk in October 2024, armed officers struck him on the side of the head, causing fluid to leak from his ear, his family alleges. No official is known to have been punished for this torture. At other addresses, armed officers forced people to lie on the floor for hours, held them at gunpoint, and confiscated digital devices and bank cards (see below).

Seven individuals now have criminal convictions for opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine on religious grounds (see below).

Most recently, a Moscow court jailed Buddhist leader Ilya Vasilyev for 8 years on charges of "Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, for reasons of political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or for reasons of hatred or enmity against any social group" for a Facebook post about a Russian rocket attack on the Ukrainian city of Kherson. Vasilyev is challenging his conviction and Moscow City Court is due to consider his appeal on 10 September 2025 (see below).

Vasilyev, who has been in detention in Moscow since his arrest in June 2024, has not been permitted to see a Buddhist priest while in custody. The Moscow branch of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) told his lawyer that this was because it has no formal agreement with any centralised Buddhist religious organisation, given the small number of Buddhist prisoners. "This, of course, violates Ilya's right to meet with a priest", the lawyer told Forum 18 (see below).

Four jail terms, three fines on criminal charges, plus administrative punishments

Since February 2022, courts have sentenced four people to imprisonment (most recently, Protestant Pastor Nikolay Romanyuk – see below) and fined three on criminal charges for opposing Russia's war against Ukraine on religious grounds. Investigators have also opened three criminal cases against people who have left Russia, and have placed them on the Federal Wanted List.

Individuals also continue to face prosecution under Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation") for opposing the war in Ukraine from a religious perspective.

St Petersburg's Nevsky District Court fined Archbishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko of the Apostolic Orthodox Church (not part of the Moscow Patriarchate) 30,000 Roubles on 1 April 2025 for comparing Russia's invasion of Ukraine with the biblical parable of the Gadarene swine. St Petersburg City Court upheld his conviction on 26 August, the Archbishop noted on his Telegram channel.

Ever-increasing internet censorship has seen websites and materials blocked for: "extremist" content; opposition to Russia's war against Ukraine from a religious perspective; material supporting LGBT+ people in religious communities; Ukraine-based religious websites; social media of prosecuted individuals; and news and NGO sites which include coverage of freedom of religion or belief violations.

The Justice Ministry has also added 12 religious leaders and activists to its register of "foreign agents", largely for reasons related to their opposition to the invasion of Ukraine. These include, most recently, Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov (on 15 August) and Fr Andrey Kordochkin (on 22 August).

According to Justice Ministry press releases, the two priests are both identically accused of disseminating "false information about the decisions made by the public authorities of the Russian Federation and policies they pursue, as well as about the Russian Orthodox Church", and speaking out "about the special military operation in Ukraine", as well as sharing materials from other "foreign agents" and "undesirable organisations" and interacting with "foreign organisations". Both live outside Russia.

Fr Ioann (a member of a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia [ROCOR] not in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate) was sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment on 31 August 2023 under Criminal Code Article 207.3 ("Public dissemination, under the guise of credible statements, of knowingly false information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation") for criticising Russia's invasion of Ukraine on his YouTube channel. He was released in August 2024.

Fr Andrey is a Madrid-based Russian Orthodox priest who has consistently opposed the war. The Moscow Patriarchate banned him from serving in 2023, after which he joined the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Moscow Region: Pastor's 4-year prison term

On 3 September 2025, after six hearings, Balashikha City Court in Moscow Region found Protestant pastor Nikolay Nikolayevich Romanyuk (born 15 August 1962) guilty of calling on others "to obstruct the exercise by government bodies and their officials of their powers to ensure the security of the Russian Federation". Judge Yevgeny Parshin sentenced him to 4 years' imprisonment in a general-regime labour camp, plus a 3-year ban on "administering websites" after his release.

Pastor Romanyuk intends to appeal to Moscow Regional Court, his daughter Svetlana Zhukova wrote on Telegram on 4 September, but "we all understand perfectly well that there will be no fundamental changes". In the meantime, he remains in detention at Investigation Prison No. 11 in Noginsk, where he has spent the last ten and half months since his arrest in October 2024.

Pastor Romanyuk gave a sermon at Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church in Balashikha on 25 September 2022 (the first Sunday after President Vladimir Putin announced the "partial mobilisation" of Russian army reservists). In the sermon, which was livestreamed on YouTube, he described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "not our war".

For this, investigators charged Pastor Romanyuk under Criminal Code Article 280.4 ("Public calls to implement activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation, or to obstruct the exercise by government bodies and their officials of their powers to ensure the security of the Russian Federation"), Part 2 Paragraph b ("using his official position") and Paragraph v ("with the use of the internet").

Forum 18 wrote to Balashikha City Court to ask:
- why the judge had imposed such a long jail sentence, particularly in light of Pastor Romanyuk's age and health problems;
- and why the peaceful expression of religious views on the war should be considered a threat to state security.
Assistant chair of the court Olga Bystryakova responded on 4 September, not answering Forum 18's questions, but stating: "A judge is not obliged to give any explanations on the merits of cases considered or in progress, or to present them to anyone for review, except in cases and in the manner provided for by procedural law."

"Anti-war preaching is not forgiven"

Prosecutors requested a sentence for Pastor Nikolay Romanyuk of 4 years and 6 months' imprisonment (followed by the 3-year ban on administering websites). Forum 18 wrote to Moscow Region Prosecutor's Office and Balashikha City Prosecutor's Office on 3 September, asking:
- why they had sought such a long jail sentence, especially given Pastor Romanyuk's age and health issues;
- and why the peaceful expression of religious views on the war should be considered a threat to state security.
Forum 18 had received no response by the afternoon of the working day in Moscow Region of 4 September.

Should the verdict enter legal force, Pastor Romanyuk's 4-year sentence will be reduced by the time he has spent in custody at the rate of one day in the detention centre to a day and a half in prison.

Nevertheless, Pastor Romanyuk's prison term is "unjustifiably cruel and unfair", lawyer Anatoly Pchelintsev (who represented the interests of a witness in the case) commented on Telegram on 3 September. Before the verdict, Pchelintsev, who believes "there is no criminal offence in the clergyman's actions", observed that "Frankly speaking, there is almost no chance of acquittal, the Russian justice system practically does not know what that is. However, hope for justice and humanism dies last."

"The case is completely fabricated, motivated either by someone's personal hatred or by a general mood", Pastor Romanyuk's daughter Svetlana Zhukova wrote on her Telegram channel on 4 September. "This is my personal opinion – although it's probably not safe to say what you think.. Imagine, Dad was convicted for his opinion, his position. There is no crime. Not a single person suffered from his actions. The state did not suffer at all."

Zhukova added: "The people who are unfairly and illegally tormenting him probably think that they are depriving him of something. And, of course, they are depriving him of freedom, communication, medical care, participation in communion, depriving him of the opportunity to continue serving people. There is much to list. But true freedom cannot be taken away from him."

"At the moment of the sermon there was great confusion in many hearts and heads", Zhukova continued. "What Dad said was burning in his mouth, in his heart. He could not help but say it, no matter what anyone thought. Because it is the truth. It is a biblical principle. And he hoped that he would be heard! Yes, he was heard. Now we know for sure. Much further and more than he could have imagined. And, probably, this act of intimidation is aimed at suppressing the opinion of dissenters, who dare to express their different opinion".

Fr Andrey Mizyuk, a Russian Orthodox (Moscow Patriarchate) priest who left Russia in 2022 over his own opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, agrees that Pastor Romanyuk's prosecution is both punishment and intimidation. "The state has made it clear more than once that anti-war preaching is not forgiven", he wrote on the Peace Unto All Telegram channel on 4 September.

"Pastor Nikolay was among those who could not remain silent [about the war] and clearly, to his misfortune, said with extreme honesty what he considered to be the duty of a Christian…The Russian state did not forgive him for this.

Fr Andrey added: "Objections from representatives of religious organisations are especially unacceptable to the authorities. And this is understandable: any attempt to tell the truth, even the weakest voice, is capable of piercing the hysterical curtain of propaganda of a bloody war. And if this voice sounds with a reference to Holy Scripture, it becomes doubly threatening. That is why such close attention is paid to any manifestation of dissent."

Pastor Romanyuk: "I do not retract what I said"

In Pastor Romanyuk's 2022 sermon, he says: "When you are offered a hit, when you are offered a bottle of alcohol or you are given a summons to send you to combat – this is the same sin, and the same drug, and the same Satan.. Find me in the Old Testament even a hint that we could somehow participate. And it does not matter which tsar calls for this – [whether] the Ukrainian tsar, the American tsar, or our tsar calls for this. I would like this to be a vaccination, at least in some way. This is not our war."

"It was written in our doctrine that we are pacifists and cannot participate in this", Pastor Romanyuk continues. "It is our right to profess this on the basis of Holy Scripture. We do not bless those who go there [to war]. [Those] who are taken by force, we do not bless them, but we pray that they are rescued from there. There are different legal ways to do this."

During the exchange of arguments (preniya) on 18 August 2025 (shared by Anatoly Pchelintsev on his Telegram channel), Romanyuk's lawyer Vladimir Ryakhovsky insisted that the pastor had not called for any obstruction of the activity of military registration and enlistment offices, and in fact had not mentioned "a single government body" in his sermon. The charge, he noted, was based on the conclusions of experts from the FSB security service's own Institute of Forensic Science, and the "inconsistent and extremely contradictory" testimony of one witness.

Ryakhovsky also noted that, in the nearly three years since Pastor Romanyuk gave the sermon, no parishioners had avoided appearing at the enlistment office when issued with call-up papers.

Ye. A. Ivshin, a member of the National Guard and parishioner of the church, stated that Pastor Romanyuk's sermon had "called for not accepting summons [to serve in the Armed Forces] and not appearing at the meeting of the draft board", and had "offended" other servicemen who attend the church. The only serviceman he named, however, testified that he had not been at the service on 25 September 2022.

None of the other witnesses who had been present at the service claimed that Pastor Romanyuk had made any such calls, and two parishioners – an army lieutenant colonel and an employee of the Emergency Situations Ministry – testified that Romanyuk had never told them that they should leave military service.

Pastor Romanyuk himself stated in court that, in his sermon, he had talked about "my personal attitude as a Christian – based on the Bible, the books of Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments – to any violence, to any military action, to a person's murder". He added that he had not called for any interference in government bodies' activities.

He pointed out that, as set out in registration documents submitted to the Justice Ministry, Holy Trinity Church "recognises the importance of military service in the Armed Forces for the defence of the Fatherland and welcomes the possibility of alternative civilian service for those whose religious beliefs do not allow them to perform compulsory military service".

Pastor Romanyuk argued that "Alternative civilian service is the same fulfilment by a citizen of the Russian Federation of his duty and obligation to defend the Fatherland as military service, but performed in a different, alternative form to military service".

He also noted the church's "humanitarian aid" to Russian soldiers and to "residents of new regions and occupied territories" in Ukraine.

"Yes, I gave a sermon in which I touched on military, albeit forced, murder. I do not retract what I said", Pastor Romanyuk said in his final speech to the court on 2 September. "I set forth my personal view and attitude towards the taking of a human life. This is my personal attitude as a clergyman. I do not retract my sermon."

Pastor Romanyuk refused to plead guilty, insisting that he had never called for any interference with or disruption to the work of enlistment offices. "This contradicts biblical laws. There is not a single word or hint of any opposition in my sermon. I support everything that was said."

"Am I right or wrong with my sermon? Perhaps, perhaps not. This is a debatable issue. Are my personal opinions and views justified or not? There are different points of view. I am fine with people who have a different view on this issue."

Pastor Romanyuk pointed out that in the three years since he gave the sermon, nobody from his church had evaded mobilisation or "obstructed" the operations of military registration and enlistment offices.

"The investigation calls me very authoritative and says I carry people along with me. Why then did no one, not a single person, listen to my, according to the investigation, calls to undermine the foundations of the constitutional order?

"Authority does exist. The Lord has provided this authority over years of service…But where and for what did I call? To help one's neighbour. My children, parishioners, literally rushed to help those affected by the military conflict."

Pastor Romanyuk also noted that he suffers from hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, psoriasis, and spinal problems (for which he had been receiving treatment before his arrest). He has still not fully recovered from the micro-stroke he had in December 2024, which caused him to be hospitalised in an intensive care unit. He continues to need "life-sustaining" medication. He experiences headaches, periods of temporary paralysis, and loss of consciousness.

Investigators carried out armed raids on Pastor Romanyuk's and several other church members' homes on 18 October 2024, as well as at the church itself and on church property in Volokolamsk.

While arresting Pastor Romanyuk, armed officers struck him on the side of the head, causing fluid to leak from his ear, his family alleges. No official is known to have been punished for this torture.

At other addresses, armed officers forced people to lie on the floor for hours, held them at gunpoint, and confiscated digital devices and bank cards (nobody else is known to have been subsequently charged in connection with Romanyuk's case).

Moscow: Appeal due in Buddhist leader's case

On 10 September, Moscow City Court is due to hear the appeal by Buddhist leader Ilya Vladimirovich Vasilyev (born 9 December 1973) against his conviction on charges of spreading "false information" about the Russian Armed Forces in a Facebook post about a Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Kherson.

On 25 June, the capital's Preobrazhensky District Court handed Vasilyev a sentence of 8 years' imprisonment under Criminal Code Article 207.3, Part 2, Paragraph e ("Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, for reasons of political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or for reasons of hatred or enmity against any social group").

Judge Valentina Lebedeva also handed him a 4-year ban on administering websites after his release.

Vasilyev has been in detention since 22 June 2024 initially in Moscow's Kapotnya prison, then in Matrosskaya Tishina. In early September 2025, he was transferred to Investigation Prison No. 3 in Moscow. Although he has been able to meditate, read religious literature and correspond with fellow Buddhists, the detention centre and the court have repeatedly refused him access to a Buddhist priest.

On 25 July 2025, the Moscow branch of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) responded to lawyer Gevorg Aleksanyan's enquiry, stating that for a detainee to see a priest, there must be a formal agreement with a centralised religious organisation. It added that, "in view of the insignificant number of persons who confess Buddhism in institutions of the penal system in the city of Moscow, concluding an agreement with a centralised religious organisation is at present not possible. At the same time, the matter remains under review, and if there are sufficient grounds (a growth in the number of believers, the receipt of new requests, etc.), it will be considered again, taking into account all the circumstances."

"This, of course, violates Ilya's right to meet with a priest," Aleksanyan commented to Forum 18 on 29 July.

Vasilyev's post constituted "information that did not correspond to reality"?

According to the Preobrazhensky District Court verdict, seen by Forum 18, the case against Ilya Vasilyev was based on an English-language Facebook post of 25 December 2022: "Putin rejected Christmas armistice. His rockets are right now shelling peaceful Ukrainian cities and towns. Only yesterday 16 people died in Kherson, where my father's family lives. Or lived? Millions of Ukrainians are now without electricity and water supply. The picture is called 'Christmas 2022'." The painting Vasilyev posted, by Ukrainian-born artist Iriney Yurchuk, depicts a nativity scene in the ruins of a bombed-out block of flats.

His post had a "purely religious" aim and was "a call for peace", Vasilyev said, according to Mediazona's account of the trial on 25 June. "The ancient holy images in the painting call for reconciliation and instil hope that hostilities between Russia and Ukraine will one day cease .. I was deeply struck by the light, kindness and hope depicted. It is blasphemous to me that the prosecution is imposing something of its own, something illegal, on a bright, festive Christmas publication, even in defiance of the author's clearly stated position."

Judge Lebedeva, however, stated: "The court is critical of the testimony given by the defendant during the trial .. considers it unreliable and regards it as a chosen method of protection from criminal prosecution, since this testimony is consistently refuted by the evidence examined above in the case."

The defence has concerns over discrepancies between two Russian translations of Vasilyev's post used in the case and the lack of experience of the FSB security service expert who provided linguistic analysis. Despite these concerns, the judge decided to accept the prosecution's argument that Vasilyev had deliberately "misled an unlimited number of people" and "created the appearance of illegal activity that violated international law" by the Russian armed forces and government, acting out of "political hatred, expressed in a 'disdainful, unfriendly, hostile, aggressive' attitude towards the authorities".

"The court finds the totality of the evidence sufficient to conclude that the defendant Vasilyev is guilty of committing the crime indicated above", Lebedeva wrote in her verdict. "The court also has no reason not to trust the expert's conclusion .. which is duly executed, complies with the [Criminal Procedure Code], is scientifically substantiated and convincingly argued, and its conclusions appear clear and understandable to the court."

Judge Lebedeva noted that the right to freedom of speech and expression may be limited under the Constitution "to protect the foundations of the constitutional system, morality, health, the rights and legitimate interests of other persons, [and] ensure the defence of the country and state security".

She said that Vasilyev's post constituted "information that did not correspond to reality about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Lugansk [sic] and Donetsk Republics and Ukraine", which "misled users of Internet resources about the true goals and conditions of the special military operation, motivated by political hatred in order to undermine the authority and discredit the activities of the Armed Forces and government bodies of the Russian Federation".

These goals, Judge Lebedeva added, are "the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine, as well as the protection of the population of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics from the aggression of the Ukrainian authorities, servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and representatives of nationalist military formations". (END)

More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Russia

For background information see Forum 18's Russia religious freedom survey

Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments

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