He Longed for Justice

When the second world war broke out, Vaso Kveniashvili was a teenager. Because Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, his father was soon drafted into the Soviet army. By that time, Vaso’s mother had died. Vaso, who was the oldest child, resorted to stealing in order to support himself and his younger siblings.

Vaso joined a gang and eventually became deeply involved in organized crime. He relates, “I felt there was more justice in the criminal world than in the government or society.” But Vaso soon realized that he was searching for something beyond what human society can offer. He recalls, “I longed for something that was just.”

Vaso was eventually arrested for his criminal activities and exiled to a labor camp in Siberia. There he met one of Jehovah’s Witnesses who had been imprisoned for his faith. “Finally, I found what I was looking for,” Vaso recalls. “We did not have any literature, but I did my best to learn from what the brother was telling me.”

When Vaso was released in 1964, he returned to Georgia and searched for Jehovah’s Witnesses. In the meantime, he kept in touch with his former fellow prisoner by letter. Sadly, his faithful friend passed away, and Vaso lost all contact with God’s people. He had to wait almost two decades before he would find the Witnesses again. More about him later.