A non-denominational Christian, rector of the Christian Abode of Mercy (Almshouse) in the village of Savinovo, Krasnoufimsky district, Sverdlovsk oblast.
Charov wrote anti-war posts on his social media, urged not to go to the military recruitment offices and invited conscripts who “escaped from the moGilization” [play of words: mogila means a grave in Russian] to his ‘Almshouse’ offering temporary shelter, food, and costs to travel to other cities. According to Charov, one of the reasons to avoid mobilization is the mandatory vaccination of the mobilized causing them to ”die spiritually.»
On 7 April 2023, citing a source in the power structures, the Kommersant newspaper reported that Charov had been detained. A protocol was drawn up against him under art. 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences (Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation).
The cases against the preacher were heard on 18 April 2023 by the Krasnoufimsky District Court of the Sverdlovsk oblast. The court fined Charov 45,000 rubles under the article on discrediting the Russian army (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) and another 20,000 rubles – under the article on inciting hatred or enmity (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code).
At the beginning of 2024, according to Charov’s wife’s report, a criminal case was opened against Charov for justifying terrorism (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). On 31 January 2024, security forces searched the shelter for the homeless and elderly, For Christ’s Sake, founded by Charov in the village of Savinovo near Krasnoufimsk. A tablet was seized. Currently, the preacher is prohibited from certain activities, incl. the use of the phone and internet; he also cannot leave the Krasnoufimsky district without the investigator’s permission.