Biography
In May 2023, law enforcement officers invaded Sona Olopova's house. She became a defendant in a criminal case for her belief in Jehovah God and was later forced to defend her beliefs in court.
Sona was born in April 1987 in the city of Charentsavan (Armenia). She has two elder sisters. Their mother worked as a nurse all her life, their father worked as a master of dairy production at a factory and also as a finisher. Now parents are retired.
As a child, Sona loved to sing, dance and spend time with friends. When she was 10 years old, the family moved to Russia, to the city of Chapaevsk (Samara region).
After school, Sona worked in trade. Later, she mastered several professions in the field of beauty and combined the work of a merchandiser with the services of a hairstylist, makeup artist, as well as a master of eyebrow and eyelash design. In addition, she worked as a manicure master.
Sona first heard about Bible teachings from her mother when she was a child. After learning about God's promises and how Bible prophecies came true, she became imbued with confidence in the Bible. She became convinced of the practicality of the advice from this ancient book and decided to take the Christian path.
Sona had known her future husband, Anatoliy, since her teens. In 2008, they started dating and got married in 2009. Sona moved to live with Anatoliy in Togliatti. Her husband shares her views on life. Sona and Anatoliy cherish their relationship and strengthen family ties by spending a lot of time together: in their free time, they walk, read, watch movies and like to go hiking with friends.
In January 2024, the believer was sentenced to 2 years of forced labor. Speaking in court with the final statement, she noted: "My conscience is clear . . . before God, before the state and before other people. I stand before the court not as a criminal, but as a Christian, a believer."
A year and a half later, Sona was released early. According to the couple, the support of friends and family helped them during this difficult time.