Biography
Eduard Merinkov was born in January 1975 in Pechora (Komi Republic). He has a younger sister. Since childhood, he loves to relax and walk in nature. Especially he was drawn to the river Pechora, on which stands the city of the same name. He was fond of modeling sailing ships.
Eduard graduated from vocational school as a crane driver, but most of his life he worked on railway transport in various specialties. Last time works as the compiler of trains. In 1997 he married Valentina. The spouses are bringing up daughter Iolanta.
Since 1992, Eduard is very interested in the spiritual. Reflections on the Bible led him to the idea that there should be a loving Creator. By the second half of the 1990s, both spouses were convinced Christians.
At first, it was difficult for Eduard and Valentina to adapt to life under pressure from the state because of their faith. However, the family was not discouraged and maintained a positive attitude.
Case History
In January 2020, security forces searched 12 houses in Pechora. Several people were detained. Among them are Gennadiy Polyakevich and Gennadiy Skutelets. On the same day, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case on extremism against them. The court sent Polyakevich to a pre-trial detention center, where he spent 301 days, and placed Skutelets under house arrest for 364 days. In November 2020, another investigator of the Investigative Committee opened a new criminal case against Nikolay Anufriyev, Eduard Merinkov, Viktor Shchannikov, Aleksandr Vorontsov, and Aleksandr Prilepskiy. They were put on recognizance not to leave. The case went to court in May 2021, and eight months later it was returned to the prosecutor. In December 2022, at the age of 58, Aleksandr Prilepskiy died from the effects of COVID-19. In April 2023, the case went to court again. A year and two months later, the court issued a verdict - fines from 200 to 600 thousand rubles. Aleksandr Prilepskiy was found guilty posthumously.
