On July 19, 2021, the Leninskiy District Court of the Kirov Region convicted Brothers Shamov, Shchepin, and Udintsev and fined them 420,000; 500,000; and 200,000 rubles ($5,618; $6,688; and $2,675 U.S.) respectively.

Aleksandr Shamov

• Born: 1960 (Komarovo, Kirov Region)

• Biography: One of six children. Parents died when he was young. Worked on the family farm from the age of six. Graduated from a technical college and became a television repairman. Married Nadezhda in 1986. They have an adult daughter. Currently receives a disability pension after recovering from a heart attack and heart surgery. He and Nadezhda studied the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 1990’s. He was baptized in 2000

Andrey Shchepin

• Born: 1991 (Korolev, Moscow Region)

• Biography: Learned the truth from his parents. Married Ksenia in 2015. Works as a civil engineer. Baptized in 2010

Yevgeniy Udintsev

• Born: 1949 (Kirov)

• Biography: Overcame childhood heart disease. Specializes in civil engineering and metalworking. Married Elizaveta in 1970. Both learned the truth from Elizaveta’s sister in 1991. Love for Jehovah helped him overcome his addiction to smoking and alcohol. Baptized in 1996

Russian officers raided 12 homes of Witnesses in Kirov on March 26, 2019. As a result of the raids and an extensive surveillance operation, the prosecutor’s office filed charges against Aleksandr, Andrey, and Yevgeniy. Andrey was detained for two days. The prosecutor considered simple acts of worship to be “extremist.” The brothers’ so-called crimes included reading the Bible and singing Kingdom songs.

The brothers are fully relying on Jehovah, his organization, and the Bible to cope with this persecution. For example, Aleksandr has gained strength from the examples of the “great cloud of witnesses” mentioned in Hebrews chapter 12. He says: “Back then, God’s servants recognized that faith requires courageous actions and endurance. When things get particularly difficult for me, I meditate on their examples. They faced even greater violence and injustice. This helps me to continue putting up a ‘hard fight for the faith.’”—Jude 3.

Andrey has been encouraged by the life stories of faithful Witnesses in Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union. He relates: “I am in awe of their courage.” He was also impressed with how Jehovah answered their prayers and rewarded their faithfulness. This inspired him to be specific in his requests to Jehovah. He explains: “I prayed for boldness, of course—boldness, boldness, and again, boldness. . . . We are aware that we live in exceptional times. This gives us unique opportunities for service, unique experiences, and a unique confidence in Jehovah.”

We pray for our three brothers and their families. We know that Jehovah will continue to comfort them and make them “firm in every good deed and word.”—2 Thessalonians 2:17.