Biography
Yekaterina Olshevskaya, a pharmacist from Blagoveshchensk, has been raising a small child alone since December 2022—the court sent her husband Anton to a penal colony for more than 6 years because of his faith in Jehovah God. Yekaterina's father, Sergei, is also in a penal colony—he was sentenced to 6.5 years for his beliefs.
Yekaterina was born in August 1984 in the city of Blagoveshchensk, Amur Region. She has a younger brother and sister. The whole family loved to go out into nature and fish.
As a child, Yekaterina attended sports sections, was fond of athletics. After school, she qualified as a pharmacist and worked in her specialty.
From a young age, her parents instilled high moral values in Yekaterina. She was deeply moved by the Bible's promise that God's government would bring justice to all the earth. In 2000, the girl became one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
In 2010, Yekaterina married Anton Olshevskiy. 10 years later, they had a son. The couple love to ride bicycles, play sports, play volleyball with friends, go to the forest for mushrooms and berries, sit by the fire and admire the starry sky. Together with her son, Yekaterina likes to make something with their own hands.
In 2018, the Olshevskiy family faced persecution for their faith when their house was unexpectedly searched. Later, Anton was accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. Two years later, a criminal case was opened on similar charges against Yekaterina.
Preparing for court hearings and taking care of the husband's needs takes a lot of time and effort. Yekaterina shared: "Since my husband is in a penal colony for his religious beliefs, the entire burden of raising and financially supporting my son fell on me. But the hardest thing for us is the threat of my real imprisonment, because of which our little son may be left without parents. After all, even now he does not receive the necessary paternal attention and upbringing."
Relatives of the spouses are perplexed what the Olshevskiys can have to do with extremism. Friends try to support Yekaterina and take care of the needs of her family.