Prison Bars Could Not Separate Me From Jehovah

We moved back to Ukraine in 1966. One of my earliest memories is of going to visit my imprisoned grandfather when I was four years old. My mother and I took a long train ride from Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, to the Mordovian penal colony in central Russia. We could spend only two hours with my grandfather in the presence of guards, but they allowed him to hold me on his lap.

Maintaining Trust in Jehovah While in School

As a child growing up in Ukraine, my trust in Jehovah was tested many times. For example, when children started school, they were required to wear a five-pointed star with the image of young Lenin on their school uniform.a A couple of years later, the children were to tie a red scarf around their neck as a symbol of their support of Lenin’s ideas. I refused to wear those political symbols because I knew that Jehovah deserves our complete devotion.

My parents helped me to make the truth my own by patiently explaining and reasoning with me on issues like political neutrality. They also encouraged me to be a diligent student at school, which would reflect well on Jehovah.

One day, a correspondent came to our school from the magazine Nauka i religiia (Science and Religion), a national journal that promoted atheistic propaganda. My teachers placed me in the front row as the correspondent gave his lecture, which was designed to discredit faith in God.

After the lecture, they brought me backstage and asked this guest to talk to me. He asked me what religion I belonged to, and I unhesitatingly answered, “I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” He had nothing to say, except to thank me for listening attentively to the lecture. This greatly frustrated my teachers!

Maintaining Trust in Jehovah as a Family

Our whole family relied on Jehovah to help us print Bible literature in our home and then distribute it. In addition, my father served as a circuit overseer in central Ukraine, visiting congregations and groups.

One afternoon in February 1978—just two days before my youngest brother, Pavlik, was born—I came home from school to find our belongings scattered all over the house. The police had searched our house and confiscated all our literature.

The day after the search, I was amused to see how my teachers stared at my younger brother Mykhailo and me, thinking that we were the children of American spies. In time, many teachers came to realize that they were mistaken. Some of my classmates later even became Witnesses!

In 1981, our home was again searched. Although I was not yet 18 years old, I was summoned, along with my father and grandfather, to the prosecutor’s office. The senior investigator tried to intimidate me by threatening me with imprisonment. At the same time, a man in civilian clothes promised me a bright future in exchange for my cooperation. In effect, one was threatening me with a “stick,” while the other was offering me a “carrot.” In an attempt to persuade me, they reminded me of the times my father, grandfather, and uncles were imprisoned. The police didn’t know that these reminders only convinced me that I too could endure prison with Jehovah’s help.—Philippians 4:13.

Maintaining Trust in Jehovah While in Prison

The day after I turned 18, I received a draft notice for military service. Because I refused to join the military, I was sent to pretrial detention. This meant being locked up in a huge cell with about 85 men, who took turns sleeping on 34 beds. We were only permitted to shower once a week.

When I entered the cell, the door slammed shut and all eyes were focused on me. The men in one corner immediately questioned me about the charges against me. Although I was nervous, I remembered the Bible account of Daniel, who was unharmed in the lion’s pit. This account helped me to trust in Jehovah fully and to remain calm.—Isaiah 30:15; Daniel 6:21, 22.

After dinner, one of the prisoners in the cell began to ask me a lot of questions about my faith. Gradually, silence came over the entire cell as other prisoners started listening to our conversation. I discussed my beliefs with them for four or five hours. My heart was filled with gratitude to Jehovah for his help!

Before my trial, I begged Jehovah to give me the wisdom and courage to defend my religious convictions. The prosecution built its case on the premise that faith in God is just an excuse for avoiding military service. I tried to convince the court that my serving in the army would displease the most powerful Person in the universe. Nevertheless, in 1982, the court convicted me and imposed a two-year sentence in a penal colony.

I was grateful to have five other Witnesses in the colony with me. Although we could only talk briefly—sometimes just for a couple of minutes—we always discussed a verse from the Bible. None of us had a Bible, but family and friends often included scriptures in their letters—sometimes we even found them in secular literature!

Maintaining Trust in Jehovah During a Medical Emergency

In 1983, while I was in the prison workshop, a crane accidentally dropped a stack of metal sheets weighing about two metric tons (4,409 lbs). The stack hit me from behind, knocked me to the ground, and crushed my left leg.

I prayed to Jehovah for the strength to endure the intense pain. The prison nurse recommended that I curse out loud to relieve the pain, but I sang Kingdom songs instead.

The trip to the hospital involved a truck, a motorboat, and an ambulance. The journey lasted six hours, during which I lost a lot of blood. I was certain that I would need surgery, so I prayed that the doctors would have wisdom and that they would respect my Bible-based position regarding blood transfusions. When I explained my beliefs to the doctor, he did not want to listen, but I begged him to reconsider. I told him that I was ready to accept responsibility for the outcome of bloodless treatment. Finally, he agreed to operate without blood, to my great relief. However, my left leg had to be partially amputated.

After the operation, I was extremely weak. For several weeks, I teetered between life and death. One afternoon, a nurse informed me that to help me recover, special food—more nutritious than what I would get if I were back in prison—would be given to me and kept in a nearby refrigerator. Daily, I was to be allowed a spoonful of honey, a fresh egg, and a pat of butter. My parents had arranged to get me these products after they found out about the accident. However, the receiving sergeant only accepted delivery of these items one time.

Jehovah’s hand is not short. (Isaiah 59:1) After changing my dressing, the nurses would share with me the food they had brought for themselves. They also replenished the special food in the refrigerator. This reminded me of the Biblical account of the widow whose jar of oil did not run out.—1 Kings 17:14-16.

Gradually, I began to recover. I found great comfort and encouragement in the 107 letters I received from my family and friends, and I replied to them all. I even received a package from my brothers in another prison colony!

After two long months, I was finally able to take a shower! And I began to dream about going back to the prison colony to associate with the brothers there again.

As one of the doctors was preparing my hospital discharge papers, he called me into his office and asked many questions about my faith. At the end, he wished me strength to hold onto my beliefs. It was surprising to hear those words coming from someone in a military uniform!

In April 1984, I went to my parole hearing and was asked if I would join the army. I responded that since I was standing with crutches and only one leg, the question was irrelevant. Eventually, they posed another: “What would you do if you had two legs?” I said that I would refuse and expressed my determination to remain loyal to my God. They responded that they would make sure that I served my full sentence. However, I was allowed to leave prison two months and 12 days before the scheduled release date.

Maintaining Trust in Jehovah After Prison

A year after leaving prison, I got a prosthesis for my leg. It takes an hour each morning to put it on. In the wintertime, wearing a prosthesis is especially difficult and my residual limb is hard to warm up because of the impaired blood circulation. I have not been able to run since I was 19 years old, but I dream of running in the new world.—Isaiah 35:6.

I had difficulty finding a job because many employers did not want to hire a disabled person. But in spite of my prosthesis, I have never had a sedentary job. For a while, I worked as a mechanic fixing various types of vehicles. Later, I worked in construction.

In 1986, I married a lovely sister named Svitlana. Svitlana is a third-generation Witness like myself. She has often said that she is so glad that at the beginning of our courtship, we agreed that Jehovah would always take priority in our marriage.

Our children Olia and Volodia learned construction skills as they helped me repair the old house that we lived in. As they grew older, they naturally enjoyed helping on Kingdom Hall construction projects. They also started regular pioneering. Olia now serves as a construction servant, and Volodia is an elder.

Svitlana has always been a wonderful support to me, which has helped me care for my responsibilities in the congregation. In the 1990’s, many congregations in Ukraine had more than 200 publishers and only one or two elders. And once a month, I spent the weekend bringing literature to the congregations in central Ukraine.

Maintaining Trust in Jehovah in Recent Years

In 2022, Svitlana and I decided to leave our home in Kryvyi Rih. We now serve in a congregation in Austria.

Early in life, I learned from the example of my Witness relatives, who were content despite the hardships they faced. The Bible gives us a deeper understanding of our Creator and helps us to have a close relationship with him. (James 4:8) That relationship is what gives life meaning. I am grateful that throughout all the hardships I faced, I have been able to give Jehovah the honor that he deserves.