On July 20, 2021, the Moscow Regional Court ruled to maintain the original suspended sentences for Yuriy, Zinaida, Vitaliy, and Konstantin.

On May 24, 2021, the Chekhov City Court of the Moscow Region convicted Yuriy, Zinaida, Vitaliy, and Konstantin. The court imposed a six-year suspended prison sentence on Yuriy. Zinaida, Vitaliy, and Konstantin each received two-year suspended sentences.

Yuriy Krutyakov

• Born: 1952 (Nizhny Novgorod)

• Biography: An industrial and civil engineer by trade. Worked as a draftsman and foreman. Searched for the meaning of life for years. Found the answers after studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Baptized in 1998

  Married Zinaida in 2012. They love to cook and listen to music

Zinaida Krutyakova

• Born: 1958 (Nizhnedevitsk)

• Biography: Was a single parent when raising her daughter. Worked as a process engineer, specializing in ceramics and heat-resistant materials. Now retired

  Was perplexed by the injustice in the world. Found satisfying answers by studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Baptized in 2003. Married Yuriy in 2012

Vitaliy Nikiforov

• Born: 1968 (Nevel, Pskov Region)

• Biography: As a child, excelled in math and loved sports. Worked as an aircraft technician in the Russian Air Force

  Began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2005. Retired from the army in 2007. Baptized in 2012

Konstantin Zherebtsov

• Born: 1973 (Turkmenistan)

• Biography: As a youth, enjoyed weight lifting and stamp collecting. Graduated from a technical school and worked as an electrician. Since 2003, has worked at a machine-building plant that specializes in orders for nuclear power stations

  Married Natalya in 1994. Together, studied the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Baptized in 2016

On September 30, 2019, the Investigative Committee of Russia in the Moscow region initiated criminal cases against Brothers Vitaliy Nikiforov, Konstantin Zherebtsov, Yuriy Krutyakov and his wife, Sister Zinaida Krutyakova. Two days later, authorities searched all of their homes.

Vitaliy, Konstantin, and Zinaida were interrogated at length and then detained for one night. They were then placed under house arrest.

On March 5, 2020, Yuriy was sent to a pretrial detention center. Since then, he has been transferred to three different facilities. He remains in custody.

Konstantin relates that prayer has been vital during this ongoing ordeal. The night of the raids, he asked Jehovah for help to deal with the anxiety. He says: “By our calm and respectful attitude toward the authorities, my family and I gave a witness, thereby showing that God’s people are peaceful and obey the law.”

Konstantin continues: “When things are tough, the verse at Zechariah 2:8 helps to encourage and strengthen me. It reminds me that Jehovah cares for and values me; he is assuring me that he will guard me like the pupil of his eye.”

As our three brothers and dear sister continue to throw their burdens on Jehovah, we are certain that he will continue to sustain them.—Psalm 55:22.