Биография
Gennadiy Valerianovich Shpakovskiy was born in 1958 in the village of Krasnyy Yar (Volgograd Region). He grew up in Sumgait (Azerbaijan), where his mother and younger brother still live. Gennadiy is the eldest child in the family. His life was typical for a teenager. He was active in sports, he especially loved volleyball. When he turned 14, he enrolled at the Nevinomysskiy Chemical-Mechanical College. After receiving a profession, he worked successfully as an operator for oxidative roasting at one of the chemical plants in the Krasnodar Territory. In 1984 he moved to the Murmansk Region. There, in Snezhnogorsk, he worked as a maintenance metal worker and an electric and gas welder. Gennadiy Valerianovich has been working as an electric and gas welder since 2003. He still enjoys sports, but especially chess.
Gennadiy is a married man. He has been married to Tatyana more than a quarter of a century already. They met in the early 1990s in Snezhnogorsk thanks to their shared passion for sports. Tatyana graduated from the Irkutsk College of Physical Education, she then continued her education in this specialty at the Krasnodar Institute of Physical Education. She worked as a coach and as a physical education teacher; she was chairman of the Severomorskiy City Council for the Trade Union Voluntary Sports Society. As a hobby she painted, so well that she can confidently be called an amateur artist. Tatyana and Gennadiy have always been together since 26 January 1991 (their wedding date).
“We came to love the Bible at the same time” says Gennadiy Shpakovskiy. “The logical explanation of all life processes is what was particularly convincing to me. Tanya had been looking for the truth for a long time, and the teachings in this book can answer any perplexing and vitally important questions”.
Gennadiy and Tatyana have a daughter, Mariya. She is sociable, kind and creative by nature. She loves to dance, sing, draw and make hand-made gifts. From an early age Masha absorbed her parents’ love for the Bible. “From childhood on I have observed the sincere love and support of fellow believers; I saw my parents’ example and became convinced that the Bible can really help solve any problem”.
In 2011, after the death of his younger sister, Gennadiy and his family moved further south, to Pskov. On 31 May 2018 the Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Pskov Region initiated a criminal case under Article 282.2(1) of the Russian Criminal Code against Gennadiy and other unidentified persons. He faces deprivation of liberty of up to ten years. With the support of the armed National Guard a series of searches was made in the homes of peaceful Pskov residents who were suspected of professing the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses and continuing the activity of a liquidated extremist organisation.
“This persecution was expected”, says Tatyana. “All the same, for us it was sudden… We are trying to support each other, and we are grateful to the brothers and sisters in the faith who encourage and support us”.