On June 7, 2021, the Tsentralniy District Court of Chelyabinsk convicted Brother Dmitriy Vinogradov. He was given a two-year suspended prison sentence.

Dmitriy Vinogradov

• Born: 1963 (Chelyabinsk)

• Biography: Raised by his mother after his parents divorced. Turned his chess hobby into his profession by becoming a chess master. Teaches at a private chess school. Married his wife, Zhanargul, in 1990. They have four children, the two youngest still live at home

  Always wondered why intelligent people pollute the planet and harm others. Found satisfying answers in the Bible. Baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2014

In late 2018, undercover agents were deployed to engage Dmitriy in Bible discussions. By January 2020, the authorities had gathered enough so-called evidence to initiate a criminal case against him. Two months later, officers entered his home and searched his apartment while he was not present.

Dmitriy suffers from poor vision and high blood pressure. “My relationship with God, however, does not depend on the condition of my physical health,” he says. “I am both happy and proud that I can give a witness in court.”

Dmitriy and his family have established a good routine of Bible reading and meditation as well as preparing for, attending, and commenting at meetings. Over the years, this has helped the family draw close to Jehovah and to each other and to be better equipped to endure persecution. He also relates: “The brothers’ and sisters’ prayers are one of the main things that help us. Jehovah hears the prayers of these righteous ones, and our family is swimming in blessings from Jehovah.”

We learn much from our faithful brothers and sisters who are courageously enduring persecution with joy. With them in mind, we echo the sentiments at 2 Thessalonians 1:4: “We ourselves take pride in you among the congregations of God because of your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and the hardships that you are suffering.”