A blogger and preacher, known to the internet as Vegan Christ-Lover of God, died this month while in Russian custody. Khristolyub Bozhiy, 43, ran a blog and YouTube channel where he spoke about religion, veganism, and the war in Ukraine, and advocated peace rather than war. 

The blogger described himself as a Christian activist, pacifist, and preacher. He spoke against Islam and promoted the recruitment of prisoners for the war in Ukraine. 

Russian officials began their investigations in November 2023. In February 2025, the Voronezh Regional Court sentenced Bozhiy to three years in a colony-settlement for offending Muslims, and he was ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment for promoting the rehabilitation of Nazism. 

In early April, Bozhiy was moved to a pre-trial detention center and was immediately placed in an isolated cell. 

“I was given five days in solitary as soon as I arrived,” he reported earlier this month. “Then another 15, for nothing at all.” 

“He had tense relations with the administration of IK-2,” someone from his close circle said. “According to his father, there were also a few misunderstandings with some of his cellmates.”  

Bozhiy also voiced that he believed officials intended to “leave him to rot” in custody. 

On April 17, Bozhiy’s father learned that his son had died, but was not told the cause of his death until he was summoned to collect his son’s body on April 20. That day, when he arrived at the investigator’s office, he was told that his son had been found hanging in an isolated cell. 

Bozhiy’s relatives don’t believe his death was a suicide. According to the family, Bozhiy went on a nine-day hunger strike earlier this year under pressure and threatened to do so again should tension arise. 

The blogger is the third pacifist prisoner to die in Russian custody within the past month, raising suspicions about his death. A criminal case on negligence is underway, in line with Article 293 of the Russian Criminal Code. SOTAvision, a Telegram-based news platform, found that the cameras in the area may not have been working when he died. 

In his videos, writings, and public appearances, the blogger tied his faith to his fight for peace. In his final protest, Bozhiy held a sign that read, “Jesus commanded to love enemies, not to kill, for God is love. Murderers do not inherit the Kingdom of God.” 

Story by Bella Agnello 

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