The last word of the defendant Alexander Dolganov in Tolyatti

 RUSSIA 

 

The last word of the defendant Alexander Dolganov in Tolyatti

April 1, 2024

Samara region

A believer believes that knowledge about God should be available to all people. He told how the Bible influenced him: "Thanks to this knowledge, I am a kind, happy person, an honest and responsible employee. I have a strong family, good friends, and strong hope for the future."

Transcript of the court session in the Avtozavodsky District Court of Tolyatti dated 04/01/2024 in the case 1-72/2024 on charges of Alexander Mikhailovich Dolganov of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Dolganov Alexander Mikhailovich:

Dear Court, Your Honor! I would like to thank all the participants in the trial for their patience and for explaining my rights during the trial. I would especially like to thank the staff of the judicial and executive authorities for their work for the benefit of people, the preservation of peace and security.

My hope for a fair trial allowed me to speak boldly and confidently in my defense. Your Honor, you have seen for yourself that all my actions are peaceful. There is no evidence that I incited hostility towards representatives of another religion or called for rebellion against the existing government in the Russian Federation. The prosecution cannot prove its assumptions in the charges brought against me. But I have never hidden and will not hide my faith in the living God. Although some people call my religion sectarian, I believe everything that is written in the Bible. My faith has given me hope in God, whose name is Jehovah, the hope that there will be a resurrection of people to eternal life on earth in peaceful conditions.

My faith encourages me to have a clear conscience before God and people. Since childhood, I have appreciated the opportunity to get closer to God. I like to learn about the Creator, gain knowledge from the Holy Scriptures, and share what I have learned with other people. The videos of this were provided by the prosecution. But these recordings do not contain calls for violence, overthrow of the constitutional order, disrespect for government officials, as well as the severance of family and family ties, because all this is alien to me and my friends. My God Jehovah condemns such things.

For me, it is important that knowledge about God be available to people. In the 9th century Cyril and Methodius created the alphabet for the Slavs. For what? So that the Slavs have a Bible in a language they understand. The Bible translated by Cyril and Methodius met fierce resistance from the Frankish clergy, who wanted to influence the Slavs. Methodius was accused of heresy, claiming that it was acceptable to use only Latin, Greek and Hebrew for worship. Fortunately, this did not stop those brave people, and we have our alphabet and literacy, which gave us the opportunity not only for spiritual enlightenment, but also the path to knowledge in general.

In the XVIII century, Peter the Great spoke about the Holy Scriptures in this way: "The Bible is a book that is superior to all books, and it contains everything that only concerns the human position towards God and one's neighbor." He allocated funds to print the Bible in Russian and distribute it to people. But his wish was not realized.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Orthodox Review magazine published a complete translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, or the Old Testament, in Russian, translated by Makarii and Pavsky. It is noteworthy that in the translation of Archimandrite Macarius, the name Jehovah occurs more than 3,500 times! The translation into Russian was not easy for them. They, like Cyril and Methodius at the time, faced opposition from the clergy, who did not want a Russian person to be able to read the Bible in their own language and, therefore, reflect and check whether what they hear in churches is consistent with what is actually written in the Bible. Fortunately, they couldn't stop these brave people either.

Despite all the attempts of the opponents to destroy or hide the Bible, they failed to do so. I think the reason for this is that God wants people to read the Bible in a language close to their hearts, reflect and apply what they have heard. Thanks to this knowledge, I am a kind, happy person, an honest and responsible employee. I have a strong family, good friends, and strong hope for the future, which helps me, despite any difficulties, to live and enjoy life.

With regard to criminal prosecution, I would like to note that, according to the note to Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, "a person who has committed the crime provided for in this Article for the first time and voluntarily stopped participating in the activities of a religious association, in respect of [which] the court has taken a decision on liquidation that has entered into legal force, is exempt from criminal liability."

From all the examined case materials, it follows that I am being tried only for participating in worship services where there were no signs of extremist acts, which means that such a religion is not prohibited by law. It turns out that I had only one way out to avoid punishment — to renounce my religion. If the Constitution of the Russian Federation allows everyone to profess their religion, and the Supreme Court clarifies that a person's participation in worship services that does not contain signs of extremism does not constitute a crime under part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, then I have a legitimate question: does the prosecution consider me a person?

No matter what the verdict is today, I will not give up my faith. My faith is an integral part of my life, without which it will lose its meaning.

Thank you, Your Honor, for giving me the floor.

Summary of the case

Region:

Samara region

Locality:

Tolyatti

Criminal case number:

12302360032000240

Case initiated:

May 15, 2023

Current stage of the case:

Proceedings in the court of first instance

Investigating:

The Central Interdistrict Investigative Department for the city of Tolyatti of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Samara region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2)

Case number in court:

1-72/2024 (1-978/2023)

Court of First instance:

Avtozavodsky District Court of Tolyatti.

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Anna Tokareva.