Biography
Viktor Ursu's father, grandfather and great-grandfather went through religious persecution during the Soviet Union, and now Viktor himself has faced persecution for his faith. In July 2023, after mass searches in the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Crimea, he became a defendant in a criminal case on extremism, and two years later, the court decided to send him to a penal colony for 6 years.
Viktor was born in June 1965 in the village of Semiskul (Kurgan region). He has an older sister. When the children were still small, the family moved from Siberia, where they were in exile, to Dzhankoy.
In his youth, Viktor was fond of photography, radio electronics, design, astronomy, and learned to play the accordion and guitar. He liked to read popular science literature and science fiction.
After school, Viktor got a job as a handyman at a cannery, where he studied to be a turner, and later worked on the railway in an experimental workshop. He also worked as a milling machine, recently mastered the profession of scraper.
In his free time, Viktor likes to sing, draw, listen to music, watch movies with good acting and read about art.
The Ursu family has always valued biblical knowledge—his great-great-grandfather was the first to become interested in this book. Since childhood, Viktor believed in God and loved to watch his creations, he was amazed by their complexity, wisdom and beauty. In 1983, he was determined to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Viktor met his future wife, Marina, who also grew up in a family of believers, at a friend's wedding. They got married in 1988. Marina worked as a seamstress in a garment factory, recently she has been repairing clothes, is fond of knitting and needlework, and she also likes to garden. The couple loves to travel together. They have a daughter, Lyubov, who also shares the religious views of her parents.
The criminal prosecution radically changed Viktor's life. Due to stress and anxiety, he developed health problems. According to relatives, he worries that he has lost the opportunity to provide for his family but does not lose optimism. Numerous relatives and friends support Victor and his family.