Andreyev Boris

Updated: July 26, 2024
Name: Andreyev Boris Ivanovich
Date of Birth: November 15, 1951
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 658 day in a pre-trial detention
Current restrictions: detention center
Sentence: 6 years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony, deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public religious organizations for a period of 3 years, restriction of liberty for 1 year
Currently held in: Detention Center No. 2 in Primorye Territory
Address for correspondence: Andreyev Boris Ivanovich, born 1951, SIZO No. 2 in Primorye Territory, ul. Engelsa, 63, g. Ussuriysk, Primorye Territory, Russia, 692525

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the «zonatelecom».

Note: discussing topics related to criminal prosecution is not allowed in letters; languages other than Russian will not pass.

Biography

Labor veteran Boris Andreev from Primorye Territory faced criminal prosecution for believing in God in the fall of 2022—his house was searched, the man was detained and placed in a pre-trial detention center, accused of extremism. Being behind bars worsened his health.

Boris was born in November 1951 in the village of Monastyrishche (Primorye Territory). He has an elder brother and sister. Their mother worked as a primary school teacher.

As a child, Boris liked to ride a bicycle. He read a lot. After school, the young man graduated from the Far Eastern Polytechnic Institute with a degree in electrical engineering, as well as the University of Marxism-Leninism. Prior to the criminal prosecution, Boris worked for 18 years as a dispatcher of the unified duty dispatch service. At various times he lived in Vladivostok, the village of Khorol and the village of Yaroslavsky.

From a young age, Boris wanted to read the Bible, but he began to study it thoughtfully only at the age of 50. In this book, he found answers to his questions. With the help of advice from the Bible, Boris was able to quit smoking and overcome alcohol addiction. In 2004, he embarked on the Christian path.

Boris has three adult sons from his first marriage. In 2019, he met Aleksandra, who shares his views on life. A year later they got married. Aleksandra loves gardening. The spouses enjoy spending time together, as well as with friends, walking, going to the sea and playing board games.

Due to the long detention in the pre-trial detention center and the lack of full-fledged physical activity, it became difficult for Boris to perform the simplest actions, heart problems and dizziness began. He was also diagnosed with a precancerous condition. A man needs to be regularly monitored by specialists, which is extremely difficult in a pre-trial detention center.

The search, detention, loss of work, worries about Boris's wife and elder sister, who also have poor health, and the threat of a long prison sentence—all this disrupted the measured course of life of the Andreyevs and their loved ones.

Case History

In October 2022, law enforcement officers conducted searches at 12 addresses of believers in the village of Yaroslavskiy in Primorye. Earlier, a case was initiated against Anatoliy Li and unidentified persons under the article on involving others in the activity of an extremist organization. Later, the charge was reclassified as organizing and participating in such activity. As part of this case, Anatoliy Li and two other believers, Boris Andreyev and Natalia Sharapova, ended up in a pretrial detention center. The charges were based on video recordings of meetings for worship in which the believers talked about their faith, sang religious songs glorifying God and Jesus Christ, and offered prayers to God. The case went to court in September 2023. After nine months, the believers received sentences ranging from 3 to 6.5 years in a penal colony.
Timeline