Biography
Andrey Gubeev was born in Ufa. He has a younger brother. Their father, a retiree who continues to work, is employed as a maintenance mechanic at a factory. Their mother is retired; trained as an educator, she worked as a kindergarten teacher and, in the 1990s, was an entrepreneur.
As a child, Andrey did dance, attended an art school, and was passionate about sports. He pursued, but did not complete, a university degree in civil engineering. In the early 2000s, he worked at a plant as a process engineer and design engineer. Later, he changed fields and worked as a brewer for 19 years. Since 2023, he has been employed as a process operator at a lubricants production facility.
Andrey initially did not believe in God and regarded religions as purely commercial structures. "Thanks to getting to know Jehovah's Witnesses, I began to hope that God exists," the believer recalls. Studying the Bible and becoming familiar with Bible prophecies helped him develop a firm faith in God. In 2003, Andrey was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. "I learned how to get along with people and to respect the laws of the country," is how he describes the changes in himself.
Since 2010, Andrey has been married to Laysan, who shares his beliefs. She works in the beauty industry. "When colleagues learn that we've been together for more than 15 years, they're amazed," Andrey says. "Many people around us have managed to divorce and remarry in that time." The couple share common interests: they regularly go to the gym and enjoy walks in the countryside. Andrey also spends his free time reading classic literature and books on self‑development.
The criminal prosecution has brought uncertainty to the family's life and has been a source of stress. Andrey is forced to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet (ankle monitor). Regular summons for interrogations have led to lost wages. Even so, his colleagues continue to treat Gubeev with respect, considering him a valued employee. Because her phone was seized during a search, Laysan is also experiencing difficulties at work.
His relatives are outraged by Andrey's prosecution. They consider the charges brought against him to be baseless.