Biography
In March 2019, a criminal case was opened in Kirov against peaceful believers, searches were carried out. One of the accused was Andrey Shchepin. The investigation lasted more than a year, then the case went to court. In July 2021, despite the absence of victims in the case, Shchepin was found guilty of organizing extremist activity as well as financing it and sentenced to a large fine of 500,000 rubles just because of his faith in Jehovah God.
Andrey was born in 1991 in Kaliningrad, Moscow region, which today is called Korolev. Andrey has an elder sister and a younger brother. From childhood, my mother instilled in children high moral standards based on the Bible, and my father taught them to work with their hands. Thanks to such upbringing, Andrey never had bad habits and since childhood he is well versed in technology, physics, modeling, and is also fond of photography. After graduating with honors from the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, Andrey received a degree in mechanization and construction automation.
Andrey respected the Bible for its scientific accuracy and beneficial effect on humans. At 23, he asked for the opportunity to undergo alternative civilian service in order to repay his debt to society, although studying at the university allowed him to go through military training in just 1 month. As a result, Andrey served 21 months instead of one, working as a postal operator at the Russian Post.
In 2015, Andrey married Ksenia, who is also a building engineer. To support the mother of Ksenia, a disabled person of group I, who required care, the newlyweds decided to move to Kirov. Unfortunately, the woman passed away even before the verdict was passed on her son-in-law.
Andrey’s relatives and friends do not understand how the court could have passed a guilty verdict on this respectable citizen.