Name: Verigin Roman Nikitich
Date of Birth: March 28, 1991
Current status: defendant (case suspended)
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)

Biography

On July 9, 2020, a wave of searches took place in Vladivostok. One of the victims of law enforcement became Roman Verigin.

He was born in 1991 in Kamenka village (Primorye Region). He grew up in a large family with three younger sisters. In 1996, the family moved to Vladivostok. Since childhood Roman is fond of reading and playing volleyball. He graduated with honours from college with a specialization in construction and operation of buildings and structures. Now Roman works as a locksmith.

At a young age, he was interested in the issues of origin and meaning of life. The young man found convincing answers in the Bible. "Studying the laws of nature, I became convinced of the existence of a reasonable Creator," shares Roman. Christian conviction prompted him in 2010 to seek through the court to replace military service with alternative civilian service.

In 2016, Roman met his future wife, Violetta, an English teacher. In her spare time, she likes to do sports and travel around Russia.

Religious persecution has resulted in financial difficulties for the family: their bank accounts are blocked, their freedom of movement is restricted due to a recognizance agreement, and the believer has to often leave work due to investigative actions. Parents support haen couple and worry about their criminal prosecution.

Case History

In the early morning of July 2018 in Vladivostok, armed law enforcement officers in masks invaded the apartment of a 90-year-old relative of Dmitriy Barmakin and his wife Yelena. Later, Yelena was accused of extremism and the family’s bank accounts were blocked. The reason for this was the woman’s participation in meetings for worship, which were secretly filmed by an FSB agent. In May 2020, the believer’s case went to court, and in September it was returned to the prosecutor’s office. In August 2021, the investigator merged the cases against Yelena and her fellow believers—Yuriy Redozubov, Igor Lonchakov, Lyudviga Katanaeva, Nina Astvatsaturova, Yekaterina Treguba, Yelena Tsorn, and the Verigins couple. In June 2022, the case went to court, and in January 2025, the believers received the following sentences: Lonchakov—7 years in a penal colony, Redozubov—6.5 years in a penal colony; Treguba and Katanaeva—3 years and 4 months suspended sentence; Barmakina, Tsorn and Astvatsaturova—3 years suspended. In July 2025, the court of appeal upheld the verdict.
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