Sergei Torop (Vissarion), Vladimir Vedernikov, and Vadim Redkin are political prisoners
Leaders of the ‘Church of the Last Testament’ were sentenced to up to 12 years in a strict-regime colony for allegedly causing psychological harm to members of their community
In the early 1990s, former traffic police officer Sergei Torop declared himself a messiah and adopted the name ‘Vissarion’. He founded a religious movement known as the ‘Church of the Last Testament’. The movement’s doctrine is a syncretic teaching combining elements of Eastern philosophical systems, Christianity, and ecological mysticism. At Vissarion’s urging, his followers began settling in the south of Krasnoyarsk Krai. The community eventually grew to around 5,000 members.
In 2018, the Russian authorities began exerting pressure on the ‘Church of the Last Testament’. Law enforcement and regulatory agencies carried out numerous inspections of the community’s activities, and several criminal cases were opened. Security forces questioned hundreds of Vissarion’s followers, while the media launched a campaign to discredit the religious movement.
In 2019, a criminal case was opened on charges of creating a religious association whose activities involve violence against citizens or causing harm to their health (Article 239 of the Russian Criminal Code). On September 22, 2020, Vissarion himself and his closest associates were arrested: the movement’s ‘theologian’ Vadim Redkin and Vladimir Vedernikov, the director of the Istoki secondary school that operated within the community.
Among several thousand community members, investigators were able to find seven individuals who claimed that their time in the community had caused them psychological disorders. Charges of causing grievous and moderate bodily harm (Articles 111 and 112 of the Russian Criminal Code) were later added. In addition, Vedernikov was charged with fraud (Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code) in connection with subsidies received by the school — investigators interpreted as fraudulent the voluntary donations deducted from teachers’ salaries with their consent.
On June 30, 2025, the court sentenced Torop and Vedernikov to 12 years each in a strict-regime colony, while Redkin received 11 years.
We consider the prosecution of the leaders of the Church of the Last Testament to be unlawful. Their case is part of a broader state policy aimed at suppressing “non-traditional” religious associations in Russia.
Read more about the case of the leaders of the ‘Church of the Last Testament’ and why we recognized them as political prisoners here.
How can you help?
You can write letters to the accused at the following address:
Ru:
660111, Красноярск, ул. Кразовская, д. 12, ФКУ ИК-17 ГУФСИН России по Красноярскому краю, Ведерников Владимир Олегович, 1963 г. р.
663305, Красноярский край, г. Норильск, ул. Ветеранов, д. 24, ФКУ ИК-15 ГУФСИН России по Красноярскому краю, Редькин Вадим Вячеславович, 1958 г. р.
En:
Penal Colony No. 17, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Krasnoyarsk Krai, 12 Krazovskaya Street, Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, 660111, Russia, Vedernikov Vladimir Olegovich, born 1963.
Penal Colony No. 15, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Krasnoyarsk Krai, 24 Veterans Street, Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, 663305, Russia, Redkin Vadim Vyacheslavovich, born 1958.
You can also send an email using ZT (payment with all bank cards), PrisonMail (payment with foreign cards) and Memorial-France (free of charge).
Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the intended recipient.
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
