Biography
"Everything happened unexpectedly," recalls Albert Pilshchikov, a resident of Naberezhnye Chelny. "The law enforcement officers threw me to the ground, handcuffed me, dragged me into a minibus and threatened me with further violence." In November 2020, the family home was searched, and in March 2026, the believer was detained by law enforcement officers.
Albert was born in Starye Savrushi (Tatarstan) in a family of builders. He is the oldest of three sons. Their father worked as a bricklayer and their mother worked as a plasterer and painter. The father taught his sons to work from an early age: he taught them construction, housekeeping, and gardening. He instilled in them a love of cleanliness and order. The family often spent time outdoors — they went fishing, sometimes with overnight stays.
As a child, Albert liked sports: he went skiing, attended a tourist club, went hiking, played football. He also joined a fine arts club. Albert spent his holidays in the village, helping his grandparents with farming. After finishing school, he studied at an agricultural college and later trained as a lawyer.
While the children were growing up, the family moved several times. For 5 years they lived in Pervouralsk (Sverdlovsk Region), then returned to Tatarstan. For 13 years, the family lived in Kamskiye Polyany, and then for about 10 years in Chistopol.
His father died at the age of 42, when Albert was 20. As the oldest son, he became responsible for the family. Before that, he worked with his parents in the family construction business, but then he found a job selling auto parts.
In the late 1990s, Albert met Jehovah's Witnesses. He said: "Studying the Bible helped me get rid of bad habits — foul language and alcohol abuse. This book taught me high moral standards, not to return evil for evil, to be sympathetic and ready to help others." According to him, faith also changed his attitude towards his family: "I learned to sincerely love and respect my parents and to be a loyal and reliable friend." In 2003, Albert was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
In 2011, he married Olesya. She is a nurse and enjoys drawing and reading books in her free time. Together with friends, the couple loves traveling around the country, especially going to the mountains and skiing. Albert also likes baking bread and cooking dishes from different nations: khinkali, pizza, pilaf, kimchi. He completed a course in digital drawing and paints portraits.
Albert's disabled mother and other relatives are worried about the couple regarding the criminal prosecution of the believer.