Biography
"It's hard to get used to the lack of normal living conditions when you're over 70," said Yuriy Sergeechev while in the detention center. He ended up there after his home was searched; he is disabled and has suffered two heart attacks.
Yuriy was born in March 1951 into a large family in the village of Sokolaevka, Oryol Region. His parents worked on a collective farm. They had five children. His father died early, but his mother lived for 84 years.
In his youth, Yuriy liked playing the guitar, wrote poems and took part in amateur performances. He qualified as an electrician at a technical college, and later graduated from Rostov State University as a psychologist. Yuriy worked as the director of the local Community Youth Centre, then as a mechanic in the Kuban Basin Water Administration.
Yuriy believed in God from his childhood, but, as he says, he only felt spiritual refreshment when he started reading the Bible. "I finally began to receive answers to my questions," the believer recalls.
In 1991, Yuriy married Antonina and in 1993 he was baptized. Then he was living in Adygeysk and became the first Jehovah's Witness in this town. His wife supported his interest in spiritual things and in 1994 she was also baptized. Antonina is an economist by education and a creative person. In her youth, she taught herself to play the accordion and entered music competitions.
Before his arrest, the couple led a busy life. They organized entertaining evenings for family and friends with quizzes and mini-performances; they enjoyed the outdoors, fishing and making gifts from natural materials. Yuriy built a fountain and a decorative fireplace with his own hands. The couple were often visited by their granddaughter and two great-grandchildren.
In April 2025, FSB officers searched the house of the Sergeechevs and took Yuriy away. He was placed in a pretrial detention center, despite his serious health condition: he has diabetes mellitus, poor eyesight and uses a cane to walk with because of problems with his legs.
Their relatives sympathize with the Sergeechevs and are impressed by their steadfastness and courage. Their neighbors are bewildered: "Why are they arresting such a law-abiding person?"