Biography
Due to criminal prosecution, a civilian resident of Novosibirsk, Vitaliy Popov, lost his job. After two years of investigation and trial, in May 2021, the court sentenced the believer to 3 years of probation. Two months later, the appellate court upheld the verdict.
Vitaliy was born in 1967 in Novosibirsk. He grew up in a large family. He had 2 sisters and 2 brothers, but a younger brother died when he was only a year old. Later, before reaching the age of 23, the elder brother and sister died tragically. There is only one younger sister, Svetlana.
As a child, Vitaliy loved to sing, was fond of football, hockey. In winter, he went skiing, took part in competitions and received categories.
After leaving school, Vitaliy received the specialty of an electrician. Later, already in another educational institution, Vitaliy trained as a welder. He worked at the factory first as an electrician, then, after returning from the army, got a job as a galvanist and grinder at a machine-building enterprise. As in his childhood, in his free time Vitaliy loves to ski, play football and volleyball and sing.
For a long time, Vitaliy could not recover after the tragic death of his brother and sister. He asked questions: why do people die? what happens at death? He found the answers in the Bible. He was also attracted by the love, respect, and mutual assistance among Jehovah's Witnesses.
In 2011, Vitaliy married Nataliya. She loves to knit, play sports and dance.
After a call from law enforcement officers to Vitaliy's employer, the believer was forced to write a letter of resignation of his own free will. As Vitaliy was told, "there is no place for an extremist in an educational institution." Relatives and friends of the spouses find the accusations ridiculous.