On October 17, the Verkhoturye City Court in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region placed Hieromonk Nikandr, born Yevgeny Pinchuk, in pretrial detention for two months. He heads a house parish of one of the “alternative” Orthodox churches that still operate in Russia.
He is reportedly suspected under Article 205.2, Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers public calls for terrorist activity, its justification, or propaganda. The maximum penalty under this provision is up to seven years in prison.
According to information obtained by Novaya Gazeta Europe from the community of St. Simeon of Verkhoturye, the parish belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, specifically the synod of Metropolitan Agafangel (Pashkovsky), referred to as ROCA(A).
Members of the community said that after a search of Father Nikandr’s home, he was taken away by FSB officers. The newspaper notes that there are reasons to believe he may not be released soon, since the case involves one of the charges considered especially sensitive by the Russian authorities.
The reported trigger for the prosecution was a post in one of his Telegram channels in which, a few days earlier, Father Nikandr called Denis Kapustin “a handsome guy”. Kapustin, also known as Nikitin, is described as the founder of the Russian Volunteer Corps, which fights as part of foreign territorial defense units of the Ukrainian armed forces and has been designated a terrorist organization by Russian authorities.
Kapustin himself, according to the report, was sentenced in absentia by one of Russia’s military courts to life imprisonment. Ukrainian sources say the RDK has around 200 fighters, but it remains the best-known Ukrainian unit made up of Russian citizens. Other such formations mentioned alongside it are the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Siberian Battalion.
The founder of the RDK was previously known as a football fan and activist in several far-right movements in Russia, Germany, and Switzerland. He had earlier held a German residence permit, but after taking part in clashes between football fans he was barred from entering the Schengen Area.