Russian court fines Jesus Christ

A Kazan resident bearing the name of the central figure in Christianity has been found guilty of illegally registering foreign workers

A man named Jesus Christ has been fined in the Russian city of Kazan for violating immigration laws by illegally registering foreign nationals in a tiny apartment.

The penalty comes after new migration laws signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month increased fees and penalties to tighten control over illegal migration.

The 45-year-old, listed in court records as Jesus Petrovich Christ, was found guilty of falsely registering 45 foreign nationals at his 32-square-meter one-room apartment.

In Russia, immigrants are required to obtain official registration to live and work legally in the country, compelling some to seek out illegal ways to obtain documentation.

Investigators said he charged each individual 2,000 rubles (around $25) for the registration. The court fined him 13,000 rubles ($163).

Read more

Christ’s true birth name remains unknown, with neither the court nor the prosecutor’s office aware of it. Those who took part in the criminal proceedings noted that he was obsessed with numerology, which led him to change his name and surname several years ago, leaving only his real patronymic, Petrovich.

The initial hearing was set for spring 2025 but was postponed multiple times due to Christ’s failure to appear. In April, the court decided to forcibly bring him to trial. In May, the Moscow District Court had already fined him 60,000 rubles ($755) for similar violations.

Russia has seen a significant influx of foreign workers, with more than 6 million foreign nationals entering the country in 2024. Half came seeking employment, with many arriving from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Approximately 700,000 foreign nationals are residing unlawfully in the country.