This Russian atheist is facing a year in jail for denying the existence of God

Russian atheist faces prison time for his beliefs.

(Image credit: VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty Images)

published 3 March 2016

A Russian man is facing a jail sentence of up to one year for suggesting in an internet exchange that "there is no God."

A Russian law — put on the books in 2013 after Pussy Riot's blasphemous performance in a Moscow cathedral — makes Viktor Krasnov's remarks subject to prosecution because they're offensive to Orthodox believers. "If I say that the collection of Jewish fairytales entitled the Bible is complete bulls--t, that is that. At least for me," Krasnov wrote, later adding that "there is no God!"

Krasnov's comments initially subjected him to a month in a psychiatric ward and numerous psychiatric examinations. However, the tests revealed that Krasnov, 38, is sane. His lawyer insists that he is "simply an atheist."