The last word of the defendant Sergei Galyamin in the city of Teikov

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Sergei Galyamin in the city of Teikov

February 20, 2024

Ivanovo region

The believer told the court how he came to the Christian faith and why his views are completely opposed to extremism. He summed it up: "I'm not a murderer, I'm not a thief. I have done no harm to anyone. But I'm here as a Christian. I have nothing to be ashamed of."

Transcript of the court session in the Teykovsky District Court of the Ivanovo region of Teykovo dated 02/20/2024 in the case 1-1/2024 on charges of Sergey Vladimirovich Galyamin of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Galyamin Sergey Vladimirovich:

Your Honor, I want to address the court with the last word, which I ask you to attach to the case file.

Perhaps I will start with this statement: "My goal is not to cry or laugh, but to understand the actions of people," wrote the Dutch philosopher Spinoza.

Your Honor, during the entire trial, you faced a difficult task: not only to understand the essence of the case, but also to understand the motives of the defendants. Because the motives that are attributed to me are imputed to me. During the process, we heard more than once: "from extremist motives," "criminal intent," etc. Now I want to tell you what motives and motives I really had and have.

As I said before, I am a Christian. For me, this means following the example that Jesus Christ set with his life. 1 Peter 2:21 says: "For you are called to this, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example so that we would follow in His footsteps." Trying to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, I want to have the same view of people that he had, I want to act towards others the same way he did. I want to love people the same way he does. I want to worship God the same way he worshipped.

Your Honor, as for me, I was born into an atheist family. My parents are Soviet people, and they were raised according to Soviet ideology. But at the same time they celebrated some generally accepted religious holidays. Basically, that's all I knew about Christianity. But nevertheless, like most people, I had questions about the meaning of life. Already in the third grade, I began to think that all people die sooner or later and that this will inevitably affect me. Then what is a person born for? This and similar questions have been popping up in my mind for years, but I couldn't get answers anywhere.

In the early 1990s, when I was about 25 years old, I worked as a plumber. At one of the applications, the landlady shared with me what she had read in the Bible. She showed me the name of God, Jehovah, in her Synodal Translation Bible. It was in the book of Exodus, chapter 15, verse 3. That's how I first heard that God has the name Jehovah. Later, I discovered for myself that many Russian classics mentioned this unique name in their works. Among them are A. S. Pushkin, I. S. Turgenev, V. A. Zhukovsky, G. R. Derzhavin, M. I. Tsvetaeva, F. N. Glinka and others. It was also interesting for me that different forms of this name, including the Hebrew form in the form of a tetragrammaton (four consonant letters YHVH, or IGVG), can be found in ancient documents, on decorations and on various architectural monuments, including ancient temples and cathedrals, both in our country and in other countries of the world.

I was even more affected by what this woman said about God's plan: Jehovah wants to make people's lives happy. He will make sure that people will not get sick and die. We can live forever in paradise on earth. The fact that all this is written in the Bible impressed me very much. This was exactly what I had wanted to know since childhood. I immediately shared this knowledge with my wife. That's how we started studying the Bible.

Our first Bible was the one we bought at the church, it was a Synodal translation. And I am still grateful to this book for the knowledge that I have learned from it. I still remember that the name of God, Jehovah, appeared in it 9 times. It was getting to know this unique name that was the turning point in my life. As I studied the Bible, I became more familiar with God as the person behind that name. For example, I learned that the name "Jehovah" is derived from the Hebrew verb meaning "to become", and, according to some scientists, may convey the meaning of "he gives to become". This meaning of the name is consistent with the role of Jehovah as the Creator of everything that exists and the executor of his plan. The name of Jehovah has become for me a guarantee that God will fulfill his original plan for people and turn the earth into a paradise again, where people will live forever in wonderful conditions.

This is what motivated me to serve Jehovah. In 2001, I wanted to dedicate my life to such a beautiful loving God and, as a sign of my dedication, I was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness. From that moment on, he became a heavenly Father to me. For me, being a Jehovah's Witness does not mean belonging to any legal association. It means to bear witness to the God I worship. In the Book of Isaiah, chapter 43, verse 12 says: "And you are My witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God." Here, God himself calls those who want to serve him his witnesses — Jehovah's witnesses. It is a great honor for me to be a witness to my God.

It should be noted that the Bible speaks of Jesus Christ as a "faithful and true" witness. Reading the Gospels, we can notice how he repeatedly draws people's attention to the name of God, his Father. Jesus begins his famous prayer "Our Father" with the words: "Hallowed be Thy name." In the Gospel of John, in chapter 17, in verse 6, Jesus, again turning to Jehovah in prayer, says: "I revealed Your name to people." It can be seen that telling about the name of God and testifying about him was the main purpose of Christ's ministry. And as a Christian, I want to follow his example. Therefore, sharing my knowledge about God, his name and the future he promises with others has become an integral part of my life.

But before I became a Jehovah's Witness, I had to work hard on myself. It took more than one year to get rid of habits that God does not approve of. The Epistle to the Galatians lists some things that God does not like. In chapter 5, verses 20 and 21, it says: "Idolatry, spiritualism, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, quarrels, divisions, sectarianism, envy, drunkenness, riotous feasting and the like... those who engage in such affairs will not inherit the Kingdom of God." Therefore, I got rid of such sins as smoking, alcohol abuse, and swearing. I prayed a lot to Jehovah to help me develop qualities such as self-control, humility, long-suffering, kindness, and love. With their help, I have struggled, and continue to do so, with negative qualities and thoughts. I have developed respect for people and stopped looking at them with prejudice, I have learned to peacefully resolve conflict situations, to be an honest and law-abiding person. I learned to truly love and appreciate my wife, respect my parents, and understood how to raise children properly, giving them the love they should receive. Of course, such changes did not happen immediately, and it was not easy for me. But the desire to please God with my life and the support he gives me gave me the strength to change.

Therefore, Your Honor, I want to repeat again that what I am accused of today is fundamentally contrary to my views and beliefs. I am very far from the criminal deeds and extremist motives that are attributed to me, because I live according to absolutely peaceful and loving biblical principles. The Bible teaches me to love all people. Therefore, what is called extremism is very far from what I believe in and how I live. My conscience is clear both before God and before people. I didn't hurt anyone. And I am convinced that all I am accused of is being a Jehovah's Witness. And not because I did something bad as a Jehovah's Witness, but simply because I believe in my God the way the Bible teaches me. It is for my faith that I have been brought before the court today.

Despite the fact that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not ban the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and did not evaluate creeds, other people did it. Because of their misinterpretation of the laws, I am here today. But even this is a great honor for me. In the First Epistle of Peter, in chapter 4, in verses 14 to 16, it says: "If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are happy, because it means that you have the spirit of glory, the spirit of God. However, I do not want any of you to suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or someone who does evil, or someone who interferes in other people's affairs. And if someone suffers as a Christian, let them not be ashamed, but let them continue to glorify God by living as a Christian." This also applies to me. I'm not a murderer, I'm not a thief. I have done no harm to anyone. But I'm here as a Christian. I have nothing to be ashamed of. I am happy that my faith in Jehovah God has given me the opportunity to share my views and true motives with you, Your Honor, and all participants in the process.

Your Honor, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you as the chairman of the trial for patiently listening to me and explaining what is expected of me during the meetings. I also thank the prosecution for being tactful towards us. Thanks to the secretary Olga Nikolaevna for her work and friendliness. And, of course, thanks to our defender Andrey Vyacheslavovich for his help, timely advice and support. I also thank defender Maria Nikolaevna for supporting our position.

Dear Court, I really hope that you have understood my point of view. I ask to be found innocent of the crime of which I am accused, but which I did not commit.

Summary of the case

Region:

Ivanovo region

Locality:

Teykovo

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, "they intentionally participated in the implementation of the goals of the religious organization "Jehovah's Witnesses in Teykovo" by organizing and directing events... conducting propaganda of its activities"

Criminal case number:

12001240014000096

Case initiated:

April 10, 2020

The current stage of the case:

Appeal

is being investigated by:

The account of the SU of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Ivanovo region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1), 282.3 (1), 282.2 (2)

Case number in court:

1-1/2024 (1-24/2023)

Court of First Instance:

Teikovsky District Court of the Ivanovo region

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Sergey Kochetkov