Biography
Vladimir Kolesnikov, a retired serviceman, faced criminal prosecution for his faith in 2022. Two years earlier, he had endured the loss of his beloved wife.
Vladimir was born in March 1946 in Lvov. He has a younger brother and sister. As a child, he was keen on sports and took part in running competitions.
From 1956 to 1968, Vladimir pursued his education: first at the Orenburg and Kazan Suvorov Military Schools, and later he graduated from the Yeisk Aviation School. After that, he served in Transbaikalia, and in 1976 he retired with the rank of captain. He then went on to work at a mine in the Far North.
In 1979, he married Zinaida, who was raising a daughter on her own at the time. During their marriage, they had a son and a second daughter. Zinaida worked in retail and in cleaning services. As her health deteriorated, the couple moved to the settlement of Vyselki in the Krasnodar Territory, where Vladimir still lives today. In his free time, he tends a vegetable garden and enjoys walking. He is now retired. His situation is complicated by health problems: shortly after his wife's death, he suffered a stroke.
From a young age, Vladimir—convinced of God's existence—reflected on spiritual matters. In 1993, Zinaida learned that Jehovah's Witnesses were planning a large religious convention and wanted to attend it. Later, the couple began studying the Bible together and, in 1995, embarked on the Christian path.
Criminal prosecution also affected Zinaida's son-in-law, Viktor Spirichev. In December 2025, a court sentenced him to two years of suspended imprisonment for his faith.