Biography
Lidiya Starostina was born in the village of Ilkino (Vladimir Region). Her parents worked on a state farm and, in their free time, were passionate about music: her father played the garmon (a Russian button accordion), and her mother sang. They passed their love of the arts on to their daughter—when she was young, she took part in amateur performing arts, and to this day she loves to sing. Lidiya had a younger brother; both he and her parents have since passed away.
After finishing school, Lidiya moved to Nizhny Novgorod and enrolled at the Gorky Automotive Mechanical Technical School. In 1976, she graduated as a technologist specializing in paint and coatings. After working for a year on assignment in Cheboksary, she returned to Nizhny Novgorod and took a job at the Gorky Automobile Plant, where she worked for 31 years. Later, she worked as a janitor, a doorman, a security guard, a material handler, and—before retiring—as a cleaner.
Lidiya met her future husband, Pavel, in 1983. They had a daughter. Pavel worked at a factory and loved spending time in nature—picking mushrooms and fishing. In 1995, Lidiya was widowed and had to raise their daughter on her own.
Lidiya's interest in spiritual matters began in childhood. She recalls: "My mother taught me prayers—I still remember them. I really wanted to understand their meaning, and I also wanted to know what was written in the thick books that were read at funerals." According to Lidiya, her husband's death deepened her desire to learn about God. The Bible's teaching about the resurrection brought her comfort, and the Bible's historical accuracy and the logic of its moral principles strengthened her trust in it. In 1999, she was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
In February 2026, security officers forced their way into the retiree's home. The stress of the search and interrogation, along with the exacerbation of her chronic conditions, is only part of the hardship caused by the criminal prosecution. Lidiya's daughter and son‑in‑law are worried about her and are doing their best to support her.