Aleksandr Ursu with his wife (center) at one of the court hearings in the case against their son Viktor. July 2025.
Aleksandr Ursu with his wife (center) at one of the court hearings in the case against their son Viktor. July 2025.
Lifetime of Repression: 86‑Year‑Old Aleksandr Ursu Faces Criminal Prosecution for His Faith
CrimeaAleksandr Ursu, a resident of Dzhankoy, Crimea, has faced religious repression for almost his entire life: childhood spent in exile, a series of searches in recent years, and the arrest of his son Viktor. On April 28, 2026, law enforcement officers once again searched Aleksandr's home. This time, a criminal case was initiated against him.
The operation was conducted by Investigator Anna Romanova, accompanied by attesting witnesses and an FSB officer. Family members report that the latter behaved rudely; it later emerged that he had previously taken part in investigative actions in Viktor's case. Officers seized personal notes, mobile phones, an internet router, and flash drives. In addition, they took the elderly couple's personal savings — about 100,000 rubles.
Aleksandr has encountered similar actions by law enforcement officers on several occasions. During a search in 2018, officers used force against him: they knocked him to the ground and twisted his arms behind his back, leaving him with abrasions and bruises. At the time, Aleksandr was 78 years old. Officers came again 5 years later — this time arresting Aleksandr's son. Viktor Ursu is currently serving a 6‑year prison sentence imposed by the court.
In early April 2026, the 75th anniversary of Operation North was marked; the international community remembered the repression under Stalin and the deportation of Jehovah's Witnesses to Siberia. Today, Russian law enforcement agencies have subjected nearly 1,000 Jehovah's Witnesses to criminal prosecution, at least 37 of them in Crimea.
