Defending Jehovah’s Name in a Unique Way

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On April 3, 2025, the Kurgan City Court of the Kurgan Region convicted Brother Sergey Skudayev and fined him 650,000 rubles ($7,657 U.S.).

Profile

Sergey Skudayev

Born: 1978 (Kurgan)

Baptized: 2005

Background: Worked as a sales manager. Married Irina in 2007. They have one daughter

Charged with: Organizing religious meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses via videoconference

Spent 127 days in pretrial detention

Sentence: Fined 650,000 rubles ($7,657 U.S.)

Personal Comments

What helped you to endure pretrial detention?

Life behind bars was challenging. The hardest part was being separated from my loved ones. In addition, I was confined with four or five criminals in a small space. They used foul language and smoked constantly. It was nearly impossible to get any sleep. But my wife shared in one of her letters something that helped me to readjust my perspective. She reminded me that during Jesus’ last day on earth, he was able to provide a witness to the criminals impaled alongside him. I thought about the opportunity that I had to do something similar—to defend Jehovah’s name in this unique way. Focusing on that helped me to avoid becoming overly discouraged.

Like Sergey, may each of us appreciate our privilege to serve as Witnesses of our God, Jehovah, and do all that we can to live up to our name.—Isaiah 43:10-12.

Jehovah’s Witnesses