In October 2022, security forces broke into pensioner Nikolai Voishchev’s home. His house was searched, the man was detained and sent to a pre-trial detention center for professing the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Nikolay was born in September 1955 in the city of Kandalaksha, Murmansk region. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Bratsk. Nikolai has a brother and an adult son who live far away.

Nicholas’s parents introduced him to the Bible. For some time he lived with them in Belarus. There Nikolai graduated from technical school and became a gas equipment specialist.

Having met his future wife, Tatyana, Nikolai in 1980 moved to her place of residence, to Maykop (Adygea), where they soon got married.

Nikolai worked as a watch repairman. When Tatyana became seriously ill in 1995, he carefully looked after her for many years. After her death in 2014, Nikolai remained to live in Maykop and worked as a plumber before his arrest.

Nikolai loves nature, travel, and people. He is always ready to help in solving difficult issues or some everyday problems. Nikolai’s acquaintances speak of him as a kind, modest and cheerful person. Despite the fact that the believer suffers from serious illnesses and there are no close relatives nearby, he does not lose heart.