Preacher Khristolyub Bozhy Vegan has declared a hunger strike after being transferred to Penal Colony No. 10 in the settlement of Pereleshino in Russia's Voronezh region. According to rights advocates, he was placed in a punishment cell immediately upon arrival and had spent 13 days there by the time of publication. In mid-October, the rights project Memorial recognized him as a political prisoner.
Vegan, whose former passport name was Dmitry Kuznetsov, was born on January 3, 1983, in the village of Korshevo in the Voronezh region. After a religious conversion in 2010, he distanced himself from the Russian Orthodox Church, developed his own religious teaching, became an ideological vegan, lived in relative seclusion, wrote books, and recorded video commentaries. In 2021, he officially changed his name.
The criminal case began on January 26, 2023, after a search of his home and his arrest. He was later charged in several cases under statutes on “rehabilitating Nazism” and “offending believers' feelings”. The charges were based on videos in which he criticized the Red Army's actions in 1939-1941, cited historical sources about crimes committed by Soviet soldiers, and sharply criticized what he described as aggressive interpretations of Islam and Ramzan Kadyrov. One psychiatric examination found signs of schizotypal disorder while still considering him criminally responsible.
The case was initially heard by Judge Maksim Petrov, who returned the materials to prosecutors in early 2024. After an appeal, proceedings resumed in May 2024 before another Voronezh regional court judge, Olga Chistyakova. Prosecutors asked for four years in prison, a ban on administering websites, and compulsory psychiatric treatment. On February 5, the court sentenced Vegan to three years in prison and granted the prosecution's other requests. On June 20, the First Court of Appeal in Moscow, presided over by Judge Alexander Pushkin, toughened the sentence by banning him from any internet activity after release.
“I am a preacher of true peace, merciful even to my enemies,” Vegan said in his final statement, calling the accusation of “rehabilitating Nazism” absurd for a person with pacifist beliefs.
In September, the regional prison service ordered him to report to the colony, but he did not comply. On October 13, Vegan staged a solo picket in central Voronezh with a “No to war!” sign. He was detained, fined under the law on “discrediting” the army, and forcibly transferred to the colony. There is no reliable information about his condition during the hunger strike.
In explaining its decision, Memorial said the case lacked the elements of a crime, the sentence was politically motivated, the punishment was disproportionate, and the defendant's rights under the Russian Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were not respected. The group also pointed to the legal vagueness of Articles 354.1 and 148 of the Russian Criminal Code, the court's refusal to consider historical materials presented by the defense, and the questionable use of compulsory psychiatric treatment.