Biography
In May 2025, Yuriy Pichugin, who had suffered a stroke not long before, ended up in a pretrial detention center. He was charged with extremism because of his faith in Jehovah God.
Yuriy was born in July 1959 in Uzbekistan but has lived in Tomsk almost all his life. He has a younger sister. Their mother worked as midwife, nurse, and head of a kindergarten until her retirement. Their father was an engineer at a state farm, then he was a fleet manager.
Yuriy has always loved nature and as a child joined a naturalists youth club. After school, he studied at the Tomsk Civil Transport College, served in the army, and then graduated from the Civil Engineering Institute. Over the years, he worked in road construction, home decoration, and as an entrepreneur. Now he is retired.
In May 2004, Yuriy was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. He recalls that when he first read the Bible, he was particularly interested in prophecy. Their accuracy convinced him of the credibility of this book. He also saw the practical value of the Bible — in difficult situations it helped him to do the honest thing. Moreover Yuriy was impressed by the kindness and hospitality of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Yuriy studied at the same school as his future wife, Tatyana. They got married in 1982 and have an adult daughter. His wife worked in construction, but is now retired. Tatyana loves working in the garden and growing flowers, and Yuriy loves spending time outdoors and fishing. Together, the couple likes picking mushrooms and riding bicycles. However, they are not only united by this, but also by their values. Tatyana was the first in the family to become interested in Bible teachings. Most of all, she was attracted to the qualities of God described in the Bible.
After Yuriy ended up in the pretrial detention center, all the household worries fell on Tatyana's shoulders.