Biography
Since the beginning of spring 2022, searches in the home of the family of Alexander and Ekaterina Chagan have been carried out twice. Aleksandr was detained and sent to jail on suspicions of extremism.
Aleksandr Chagan was born in 1971 in Dnepropetrovsk (at that time the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic). A year later, the family moved to Togliatti. The boy's mother died when he was only 11 years old, and his father raised two sons alone. After a while, the father remarried, and the couple had another son.
Aleksandr recalls that the family lived amicably. As a child, he was involved in wrestling and boxing. My father made a sports corner with a horizontal bar at home, and also taught children to play chess. He worked hard to ensure that his sons grew up to be well-rounded people.
After the 8th grade of school, Aleksandr entered a vocational school and received the profession of an auto repairman. After graduating with honors, he continued his studies at the institute, but did not finish his studies - he went to serve in the army. Upon his return, the young man entered the university to study humanities. Later, Aleksandr acquired the skill of working with a computer and began to work in this field.
As in his childhood, Aleksandr loves sports.
In the late 1990s, Aleksandr often thought about the meaning of life, because he did not find satisfaction either in money or in his career. At the age of 30, he met Jehovah's Witnesses. From them, he first learned that the Bible does not contradict science and that the Scriptures speak of death and the Creator's purpose for mankind. Aleksandr concluded that the Bible was the Word of God and decided to become a follower of Christ.
In 2008, Aleksandr married Ekaterina. She shares her husband's beliefs. Ekaterina loves sewing and drawing.
Together, the couple raised Yekaterina's daughter, Regina. In their free time, the family loves to walk and travel together. Alexander also has a daughter from his first marriage.
"The criminal prosecution came as a surprise to us, but at that time we felt the love of our fellow believers, and how God fulfills his assurance: 'I will never leave you and I will never leave you,'" says Aleksandr. According to him, relatives sincerely do not understand why peaceful people who do not harm anyone are being persecuted in Russia.