Biography
Oleg Zhukov was born on January 13, 1972, in the village of Tselinniy, Shirinskiy District, Republic of Khakassia. He has two older sisters and a younger brother. His father passed away when Oleg was five years old. For two years the boy lived with his sister in Saratov, and later he and his mother moved to Sayanogorsk, where she remarried and eventually gave birth to his younger brother.
From childhood, Oleg enjoyed hiking, hunting, and fishing. After finishing school, he enrolled in a vocational school but left before graduating and began working. He was first hired as an auto mechanic at a motor depot. Later he spent some time herding sheep, worked as a baker, and then got a job as an electrolyzer operator at the aluminum plant in Sayanogorsk. Oleg devoted 26 years to this work and continued even after receiving early retirement benefits in 2022.
Oleg met his future wife, Lyudmila, when they were still in school. They married in 2005 and have two sons and a daughter. Lyudmila works as a cleaner.
When Oleg was about thirty, a Bible came into his hands. Its advice struck him as practical, and by applying it he was able to strengthen his family. Later, Lyudmila also began reading the Bible. After some time, the couple became Jehovah's Witnesses.
When FSB officers came to their home with a search at the end of January 2026, Oleg was busy arranging the funeral of his son‑in‑law. Oleg was taken away for questioning and the next day placed in a detention center. "We were left without the head of our family, our breadwinner and support," Lyudmila said. "It's hard to cope with the household tasks that only Oleg handled... Our daughter, after the sudden death of her husband, needed physical and emotional support. Now two households have lost their men."
Colleagues and neighbors consider the persecution unjust and hope that Oleg will be released.