Biography
In June 2020, a series of searches were carried out in dozens of houses of believers in Astrakhan. The Ivanovs — Yevgeniy and Olga — also became victims of the unlawful actions of the security forces — a criminal case was opened against them for their faith. In October 2021, the court handed down a harsh sentence to the spouses — 8 years in prison for Yevgeniy and 3.5 years of real imprisonment for Olga.
Yevgeniy was born in 1976 in Astrakhan. As a child, he was fond of karate and aircraft modeling. He graduated with honors from vocational school with a degree in metal ship hull assembly, manual welder and gas cutter. For nine years he worked in his specialty at the Astrakhan shipyards, and in 2006 he took up repair and finishing work. In this area, Yevgeniy worked until the initiation of a criminal case, performing, in addition, the duties of an electrician, plumber, locksmith and auto mechanic.
The young man began to take a serious interest in the Bible in 1997, when a colleague gave him several publications on religious topics to read. As he studied the Scriptures, he was impressed by the example of the life of Jesus Christ. Yevgeniy recalls: “By the time I became one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I had stopped drinking, quit the bad habit of smoking that I had from 8 to 22 years old, and stopped leading an immoral lifestyle.”
In 2005, Yevgeniy met Olga, and two years later they got married. They love to spend time in nature, to help stray animals.
The confinement became a heavy burden for the Ivanovs, who were accustomed to spending a lot of time with each other. The couple rented an apartment, and the loss of their job posed the most difficult financial issues for them. Yevgeniy noted: “Our surname and my wife have been included in the list of extremist persons. In view of this, Rosfinmonitoring isolated us from all financial possibilities. My wife was placed under house arrest. Accordingly, she lost the opportunity to earn her living, pay for rental housing, and bank cards are blocked. And this at a time when there is a pandemic throughout the country, rising prices, unemployment. "
Olga's mother, who lost her husband and underwent two surgeries, is experiencing additional stress due to the unfair attitude of the authorities towards her daughter and son-in-law. The harsh sentence deprived her of much-needed support from her loved ones.