Another 126 believers continue to serve real prison terms.
Sergey Melnik, 53, a Jehovah’s Witness from Volgograd, has completed more than four years and nine months in prison. His sentence for his faith ended on December 18, 2025. He was released from Kirovo-Chepetsk correctional colony and took a train home the following day.
Melnik was first detained in May 2019, placed in a pre-trial detention center after a search, and later returned there after the verdict.
“The hardest part was the isolation and worrying about my family. I didn’t know what was happening with them,” Melnik recalls. “No letters, no visits, no phone calls.” Eventually, he was allowed to correspond. “In letters, we could chat about everyday things and feel as if we were together,” Melnik added. “Through friends, I even managed to send my wife bouquets with cards.”
He had been in the colony since March 2022, where he had limited contact with family through short phone calls. Family and friends continued writing, and by his release, he had received 5,000 letters. Melnik tried to reply to each one, dedicating weekends to the task.
While in prison, he trained as a cook and worked in the cafeteria. “It was initially difficult to chop, memorize recipes and their sequence, but then I adapted and started doing everything quickly,” he said.
The work was physically demanding: he had to get up earlier and spend the whole day on his feet, serving over a thousand inmates three times daily. Despite this, Sergey loved cooking and shared unusual recipes with his unit.
The colony staff and inmates had a friendly attitude towards Melnik; many were impressed by his optimism and cheerful nature. “The guys there called me ‘the man with the smile.’ They’d say: ‘You walk into the cafeteria, see Sergey smiling, and that means our day isn’t going to waste,’” Melnik recalls.
As of December 20, 2025, 15 Jehovah’s Witnesses have been released from Russian colonies. Another 126 believers continue to serve real prison terms.
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