{"id":59715,"date":"2026-05-19T10:09:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/news\/sergej-torop-vissarion-vladimir-vedernikov-i-vadim-redkin-politzaklyuchyonnye\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T15:22:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T12:22:44","slug":"sergei-torop-vissarion-vladimir-vedernikov-and-vadim-redkin-are-political-prisoners","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/sergei-torop-vissarion-vladimir-vedernikov-and-vadim-redkin-are-political-prisoners\/","title":{"rendered":"Sergei Torop (Vissarion), Vladimir Vedernikov, and Vadim Redkin are political prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Leaders of the &#8216;Church of the Last Testament&#8217; were sentenced to up to 12 years in a strict-regime colony for allegedly causing psychological harm to members of their community<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the early 1990s, former traffic police officer Sergei Torop declared himself a messiah and adopted the name &#8216;Vissarion&#8217;. He founded a religious movement known as the &#8216;Church of the Last Testament&#8217;. The movement\u2019s doctrine is a syncretic teaching combining elements of Eastern philosophical systems, Christianity, and ecological mysticism. At Vissarion\u2019s urging, his followers began settling in the south of Krasnoyarsk Krai. The community eventually grew to around 5,000 members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2018, the Russian authorities began exerting pressure on the &#8216;Church of the Last Testament&#8217;. Law enforcement and regulatory agencies carried out numerous inspections of the community\u2019s activities, and several criminal cases were opened. Security forces questioned hundreds of Vissarion\u2019s followers, while the media launched a campaign to discredit the religious movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019s &#8216;theologian&#8217; Vadim Redkin and Vladimir Vedernikov, the director of the Istoki secondary school that operated within the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 \u2014 investigators interpreted as fraudulent the voluntary donations deducted from teachers\u2019 salaries with their consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On June 30, 2025, the court sentenced Torop and Vedernikov to 12 years each in a strict-regime colony, while Redkin received 11 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 \u201cnon-traditional\u201d religious associations in Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more about the case of the leaders of the &#8216;Church of the Last Testament&#8217; and why we recognized them as political prisoners <a href=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/dossier\/delo-rukovoditelej-religioznogo-dvizheniya-czerkov-poslednego-zaveta\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><strong>How can you help?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can write letters to the accused at the following address:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ru:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>660111, \u041a\u0440\u0430\u0441\u043d\u043e\u044f\u0440\u0441\u043a, \u0443\u043b. \u041a\u0440\u0430\u0437\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f, \u0434. 12, \u0424\u041a\u0423 \u0418\u041a-17 \u0413\u0423\u0424\u0421\u0418\u041d \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0438 \u043f\u043e \u041a\u0440\u0430\u0441\u043d\u043e\u044f\u0440\u0441\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0443 \u043a\u0440\u0430\u044e, \u0412\u0435\u0434\u0435\u0440\u043d\u0438\u043a\u043e\u0432 \u0412\u043b\u0430\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u041e\u043b\u0435\u0433\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0447, 1963 \u0433. \u0440.<em><br><br><\/em>663305, \u041a\u0440\u0430\u0441\u043d\u043e\u044f\u0440\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u043a\u0440\u0430\u0439, \u0433. \u041d\u043e\u0440\u0438\u043b\u044c\u0441\u043a, \u0443\u043b. \u0412\u0435\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430\u043d\u043e\u0432, \u0434. 24, \u0424\u041a\u0423 \u0418\u041a-15 \u0413\u0423\u0424\u0421\u0418\u041d \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0438 \u043f\u043e \u041a\u0440\u0430\u0441\u043d\u043e\u044f\u0440\u0441\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0443 \u043a\u0440\u0430\u044e, \u0420\u0435\u0434\u044c\u043a\u0438\u043d \u0412\u0430\u0434\u0438\u043c \u0412\u044f\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0447, 1958 \u0433. \u0440.<em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>En:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also send an email using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zonatelecom.ru\/services\/letter\/payments-letter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ZT<\/a>\u00a0(payment with all bank cards), <a href=\"https:\/\/prisonmail.online\/\">PrisonMail<\/a> (payment with foreign cards)\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/memorial-france.org\/politzeki\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Memorial-France<\/a>\u00a0(free of charge).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to<\/em>&nbsp;<em>reach the intended recipient.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/donate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">can donate<\/a>\u00a0to help all political prisoners in Russia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-59715","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","regions-krasnoyarsk-krai","news-type-press-releases"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sergei Torop (Vissarion), Vladimir Vedernikov, and Vadim Redkin are political prisoners - Political prisoners support. 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