Biography
Yevgeniya Vasilyeva was born in March 1976 in Moscow in a family of journalists. She has a younger sister. As a child, Yevgeniya was interested in judo and aikido, dance, and music.
In the early 1990s, Yevgeniya’s father was sent to Vilyuchinsk, a closed military town on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, to organize the publication of a local newspaper. The family settled in this town.
Yevgeniya’s spiritual search began in her teenage years, when she started going to church on her own. In Vilyuchinsk, Yevgeniya’s mother was offered a Bible study with Jehovah’s Witnesses. “I immediately asked to go with my mother,” she recalls. “I wanted to know what was written in this ancient book from God.” At that time, the circle of people around her left much to be desired. “I was surrounded by thieves, alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals,” Yevgeniya recalls. “If not for Bible truths, my life would have followed the same pattern.”
Soon Yevgeniya met her future husband, Vitaliy. In 1993, they married, and the following year they were baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Thanks to the Bible, we have a good family,” the believer said. “My husband and I have been together for more than 30 years; we raised a fine daughter.”
Yevgeniya graduated from Kamchatka State University with a degree in Information Systems in Economics, and then received additional education as a secretary and records manager. She worked at the tax inspectorate and the Vilyuchinsk television and radio company. Later, Yevgeniya trained as a versatile hairdresser and now works in this field as a self-employed entrepreneur. Over his life, Vitaliy acquired various trades, including carpenter, cabinetmaker, and welder. He is now retired due to disability. The couple enjoy traveling to beautiful places in Kamchatka, admiring the ocean and the hills. Their adult daughter, Raisa, is already married and also works as a hairdresser.
A search of Yevgeniya and Vitaliy’s home was conducted in March 2026. “I can still hear the shouting and foul language of the officers in my head to this day,” the woman said several months after these events. “It is a paradox: for my lawful religious beliefs, I experienced discrimination, religious hatred, and humiliation at the hands of law enforcement officers,” Yevgeniya added. “A monstrous mockery of the law they were supposed to protect.”
The stress from the criminal prosecution has aggravated Yevgeniya’s chronic illnesses and disturbed her sleep. Because her bank accounts have been blocked and a criminal case was initiated, she has faced difficulties at work. Yevgeniya’s parents, who do not share her religious beliefs, consider the charges baseless and contrived.