Biography
Galina Medvedeva was born in February 1965 in Babstovo, Leninskiy District, Jewish Autonomous Region, where she has lived her entire life. Her father worked as a carpenter, enjoyed chess, and created tapestry-style paintings. He died when Galina was 12 years old. Her mother worked as a laborer at the local Sovkhoz; in her free time, she embroidered portraits. She passed away in 2013 at the age of 83. Both parents were deaf, but Galina and her two older sisters did not have any hearing problems.
As a child, Galina dreamed of becoming a figure skater. In high school, she attended a dance club and taught herself to play the guitar. After finishing school, Galina trained as a nurse. Over her lifetime, she worked at a military unit, a school, and a kindergarten, and before retiring, she spent 5 years as a social worker. "In my life I have had to interact with all sorts of people: military personnel, children, teenagers, elderly people. There were never any complaints, I worked honestly and conscientiously. Children and elderly people enjoyed talking with me," she said.
In the family, it was Galina's mother who was the first to take an interest in the Bible and to meet with Jehovah's Witnesses. The daughter decided to "see what was going on" and later asked for help studying the book herself. According to the believer, Bible knowledge helped her to change — she stopped using foul language and smoking. In 2003, Galina was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Galina raised three sons. In 2023 the youngest died at the age of 22. "Now I try to care for his small son — as if my son were alive and would do it himself," she said.
The blocking of bank cards, the need to travel 100 kilometers to court hearings, additional expenses, and the exhaustion caused by the prosecution have complicated the believer's life. Her sons worry about Galina's health as this goes on — she is on record at the oncology dispensary.