Biography
After mass searches of peaceful believers in Syktyvkar in March 2021, Andrey Kharlamov was detained and sent to a temporary detention center, and later under house arrest. The father of two adult children, a professional hockey player and a conscientious employee of heating networks with experience, faced criminal prosecution for his faith.
Andrey was born in March 1971 in the city of Syktyvkar (Komi Republic). His father worked as a car mechanic, and his mother worked as a typist in a newspaper. Both are no longer alive. Andrey, the second of six children in a large family, helped his parents raise his younger brothers and sister. As a child, Andrey was engaged in freestyle wrestling, and in his teenage years he became interested in ball hockey, played in the Syktyvkar team "Builder". Andrey took part in the All-Union and All-Russian zonal competitions "Wicker Ball", and in 1986 he was recognized as the best scorer in field hockey.
After school, Andrey entered the secondary technical school in St. Petersburg, played in the local hockey team "Krasnaya Zarya". A year later, he returned to Syktyvkar, entered the Pedagogical University, where he met his future wife Larisa. Andrey and Larisa got married in 1990. Larisa worked as a teacher in a boarding school and as a career staffer, now she is retired. The Kharlamovs' children work as teachers: the son teaches English, and the daughter teaches music.
In 1993, Andrey's colleague introduced him to the Bible. Andrey shared what he learnt with his wife, and in 1994 they both embarked on the Christian path of life. Larisa shares that they were deeply touched by God's love for people and his just attitude towards them.
Andrey worked as a carpenter-machine operator at a woodworking plant, and for the last 26 years he worked at a large enterprise "Syktyvkar Heating Networks" - first as a boiler driver, and in recent years as an operator of a gas boiler house. Andrey is in good standing with the employer, he has established himself not only as an executive worker, but also as an experienced mentor. During his work he has not received a single disciplinary sanction, he has gratitude for his conscientious work.
To this day, Andrey does not abandon his hockey hobby: he participates in bandy competitions among amateur teams in Syktyvkar, has awards, in 2018 he received the Cup of the Night League tournament as the best player in the team. In his free time, Andrey plays the guitar, and Larisa is very fond of singing, the family often arranges musical evenings with family and friends. Larisa likes to create coziness in the house, she is interested in interior design, loves walking. With her husband, they are engaged in agriculture, grow vegetables and flowers in their summer cottage.
The search and criminal prosecution just because of faith in God and reading the Holy Scriptures shocked the entire Kharlamov family.