Biography
In January 2020, law enforcement officers detained 15 of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Kazan. One of them, Tatyana Obizhestvit, spent 24 hours in a temporary detention center and was later placed under house arrest. In February 2023, the court gave her a two-year suspended sentence merely because of her faith.
Tatyana was born in January 1962 in the city of Kazan. As a child, she was fond of cutting and sewing clothes. She graduated from culinary school. She worked as a cook in a kindergarten and in a factory as a seamstress; before the criminal prosecution, she worked as a nurse in a hospital for more than 20 years. She retired but continued to work to support herself financially.
Tatyana's search for the source of happiness led her to study the Bible on her own, and she eventually decided to become a Christian.
Tatyana and her husband Aleksandr raised two daughters. The family enjoyed cooking together. Aleksandr died in 2010.
Tatyana studied a foreign language, devoted a lot of time to communicating with her granddaughter, and loved to travel. Criminal prosecution radically changed her life. Due to house arrest, she had to quit her job. The stress has caused her illnesses to worsen. Cheerfulness and optimism help her cope with what is happening.
Relatives and colleagues do not understand how Tatyana, who is such a peaceful and kind person, can be considered an extremist simply for praying and reading the Bible.