Biography
Yekaterina Olshevskaya, a pharmacist from Blagoveshchensk, has been raising a small child alone since December 2022 — the court sent her husband Anton to a penal colony for more than 6 years because of his faith in Jehovah God. Yekaterina's father, Sergei, is also in a penal colony — he was sentenced to 6.5 years for his beliefs.
Yekaterina was born in August 1984 in the city of Blagoveshchensk, Amur Region. She has a younger brother and sister. The whole family loved being outdoors and fishing.
As a child, Yekaterina attended sports clubs and enjoyed athletics. After school, she qualified as a pharmacist and worked in her field.
From a young age, her parents instilled high moral values in Yekaterina. She was deeply moved by the Bible's promise that God's government would bring justice to all the earth. In 2000, she became one of Jehovah's Witnesses.In 2010, Yekaterina married Anton Olshevskiy. They had a son 10 years later. The couple loves cycling, playing sports, including volleyball with friends, picking mushrooms and berries in the forest and sitting by the fire admiring the starry sky. Yekaterina and her son enjoy handcrafting together.
In 2018, the Olshevskiy family faced prosecution for their faith when their house was unexpectedly searched. Later, Anton was charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization. A criminal case was initiated on similar charges against Yekaterina 2 years later.
Preparing for court hearings and taking care of her husband's needs takes a lot of time and effort. Yekaterina said: "Since my husband is in prison for his religious beliefs, the entire responsibility of raising and financially supporting my son fell on me. But the hardest thing for us is the threat of me being sent to prison, which would mean our little son is left without his parents. After all, even now he does not receive the necessary attention and upbringing from his father."
Relatives of the couple are at a loss as to how the Olshevskiys could be linked to extremism. Friends try to support Yekaterina and take care of the needs of her family.