On February 10, 2021 the Abinskiy District Court of the Krasnodar Territory convicted Brother Aleksandr Ivshin. He was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, making this the longest, harshest sentence imposed on one of our brothers since the 2017 Supreme Court ban.

Aleksandr Ivshin

• Born: 1957 (Katav-Ivanovsk)

• Biography: Before retirement, worked as a lathe operator, lumberjack, and industrial safety engineer. Married his wife, Galina, in 1974. They have two daughters and eight grandchildren

  After experiencing a serious illness, he thought about the meaning of life. After reading three of the four Gospels in one night, he began to study the Bible. Baptized in 1995

The legal challenges against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Abinsk date back to early 2015. The Local Religious Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses was labeled as “extremist” and was liquidated. Some five years later on April 23, 2020, a criminal case against Brother Aleksandr Ivshin was initiated. Among his “crimes” are the organizing of religious services by videoconference and the singing of Kingdom songs.

When authorities searched Aleksandr and Galina’s house, the stress of the search caused each of them to suffer a hypertensive emergency. Several months after the search, Aleksandr’s car was seized. Despite these difficulties, Aleksandr has maintained a positive attitude. In his concluding comments to the court, he said: “I am not surprised by the fact that I am a defendant in this case, because Jesus foretold it. At Matthew 10:18, it says: ‘And you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them and the nations.’ . . . Jesus’ words do not cause me to feel despondent. No, they make me happy, because I can tell the honorable court about the hope that awaits all people who recognize their spiritual needs.”

Aleksandr and Galina are adding their voices to the great witness being given in Russia and in all parts of the earth. We are confident that they will be richly blessed for placing their confidence in Jehovah.—Jeremiah 17:7.