From prison to preaching the Gospel to addicts in Russia
24-06-2025
Eastern Europe
William Immink, CNE.news
Vladimir at his smoker. Smoking pork has become a business opportunity to host people in his guest house / rehab centre. Photo William Immink
Eastern Europe
Iranian truck drivers, Tajik drug addicts, and Russian alcoholics—all are welcome at Vladimir’s new house. He feeds them, washes them, and gives them a place to sleep. But most importantly, he preaches the Gospel: “If people believe these Words, their lives will be changed.”
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Vladimir is a well-known figure among Russian Baptists. People recognise him because of three things. The first is his car, which has Bible verses and signs saying “Jesus Christ is the Saviour” all over it.
Secondly, Vladimir is known for his often radical preachings, telling believers to rise up and “feed the poor, help the needy.” Lastly, Vladimir is known for his always-present willingness to give you a free meal in his house.
Earlier, Vladimir rented a two-room flat in the Moscow region and lived there with his wife and four kids. However, the place was not suited for his work: the homeowner was not happy with Vladimir bringing the homeless, drug addicts, and alcoholics to this apartment. Therefore, he decided to take a leap of faith and buy a huge house outside of Russia’s capital where the poor and needy could live, recover, and, hopefully, come to Christ.
Money
When we meet Vladimir at the house he bought, he stands near the new “smoke house” he placed in his yard. “We have to earn money somehow”, he explains while hanging lumps of pork fat in the smoker. “Do you want to try some?” Vladimir asks his guests while cutting a small slice of belly fat from the white pork.
Later, when we drink tea, Vladimir tells more about his life, what brought him to buy a house, and what he hopes one day will be a rehabilitation centre. Behind him stands a stack of Bibles, ready to be handed out.
How is your project going with this rehabilitation centre and guest house?
“We are holding on”, says Vladimir with a deep sigh: “It is difficult, and we don’t have a lot of finances. We need to invest half a million rubles (6,000 euros, WI) in a drilled water pump. Getting gas to our front door will take another half a million. We don’t even have a shower for people experiencing homelessness to wash themselves. So, we really hope and pray that God will send us the means to fix this.”
How did you come to Christ?
“That’s a long story. I had a difficult life. My mother raised us – four sons – alone. My father was in prison. When I was 20 years old and came back from my military service, I, too, committed some crimes. I was sent to prison twice for twelve years. I was a sly, sinful, low and vile person.”
Somehow, you followed the same path as your father did?
“Well, it’s predictable that you absorb the environment you live in. I was, however, always searching for the meaning of life. I grew up in an environment where people lived the way they wanted. And in general, everybody suffers and grieves. People indulge in drinking; someone hangs themselves, someone drowns, children lose their parents, and someone’s dad abandons their mother. You notice so much injustice, lies, and deception, and you don’t understand the point. There must be some kind of meaning.”
So, how did you find meaning in life?
“One day, in my second jail term of twelve years, I decided to cut myself. I did not want to commit suicide, but I wanted to get out of prison to the hospital. I wanted to dig up the dirt on someone.” While speaking, Vladimir shows rough scars on his neck, his arms and his belly.
I had broken a blade off a machine, and one night, I took it to the bathroom. When the others were all asleep, I began to cut my throat, veins, and stomach. It was horrible. Fountains of blood flooded from my stomach, hands and throat. The whole mirror was bloody. I looked like a butcher.
But then I saw my reflection. I looked at myself in horror. What had I done? Where was I heading? It was as if a satanic veil was taken away for a moment. Happily, the prison wards found me alive and sewed me up and put me in isolation for five days.”
And so, you found God in the isolation cell?
“It is not that simple. In the isolation cell, I became very weak. I did not eat for five days, and my wounds got infected. I felt like I was dying, and I still hadn’t found out what the point is of life. That depressed me the most. I understood I was at such a dead end. And I became scared.
I was not afraid of death. But I was afraid of what would happen after death. Judging by how I lived on earth, nothing good would await me there. And so, I cried out to God, I screamed. “Lord, if you exist, then what is the point?”
That was the beginning of your change?
“Yes, later, an evangelist came to prison and gave me a New Testament. I promised him I would read it, but I wanted to throw it away. And at that moment, I felt the Lord saying, “You have never brought anything to the end”. That got to me. So, I started reading. I read three passages about the birth of Jesus Christ, John 3, and the Day of Judgement in Revelation.
I was in shock. I felt so convicted. I understood that God had a criminal case against me. He had everything written down, and I was already convicted. It made me read more in the Bible. Later, when I finally got to the hospital, I was reading the Bible over and over. I cried a lot that time.
I really came to Christ six years into my second term. I remember it was June 24th, 2005, when I put my knees on the hospital floor and said to God, ‘I will live as You tell me’.”
Is that where you started to preach the Gospel?
“Well, it took me some time to understand the full picture of the Gospel. Only later, someone gave me the full Bible, and I read the book of Genesis. That’s where I understood where sin came from. But yes, from the start, I forced myself to be humble and prayed on my knees in front of everyone. Fellow inmates saw the change, and many are still believers today.”
You have stuck a lot of Bible verses on your car. Why did you start doing that?
“It started in prison”, says Vladimir with a big smile: “I had a friend, Aleksei, who could sew a little. I asked him if he could sew me some new pyjamas. I wrote some verses from the Bible on them, and with red threads, I clumsily embroidered those so everyone could read them. I had a desire that not only I believe but that others could also read this.
If people believe these words on my car, their lives will change. They will be saved from eternal torment,” Vladimir says. Now, Vladimir writes Bible verses everywhere.
Have you ever been hindered in your evangelising projects?
“No, I have never encountered any obstacles at all. Despite difficulties, God always opened doors for the Gospel to be preached. Just a couple of months ago, I drove to Kursk (when the Ukrainian military attacked the Russian border region, WI) to bring Bibles to the refugees. Also, within hospitals, I seldom have closed doors.”
When you lived in Siberia, you had a similar rehab building. Why do you think this is a good way to serve the poor and needy?
“Well, as I said, we lived in rented flats and brought people there. The owners would scold us because we brought homeless people into their houses.
We took them to church, but the congregation wasn’t very happy to see them either because of the smell. So, we tried to send them to rehabilitation centres. Soon, I understood that these centres acted as working houses where people experiencing homelessness could be exploited for work in Moscow.
They ended up back on the streets again, and when I met them again, they would be upset and ask me why I sent them there. So, we understood that we had to do something ourselves.”
Buying this house was quite a miracle. Can you tell me the story?
“Yes, one night, I was lying awake and saw this house on my phone. I understood straight away that this was the house I needed to buy. However, I did not have the money for it. So, I prayed that the Lord would provide, and we started saving and gathering money. The owners of the house finally gave us 2 million rubbles (20,000 euros), and so, with the money we gathered, we could buy the house.
Today, we still live in this house. It is unfinished, but we hope that God will finish weaving this ‘carpet’. That’s why we called it the ‘carpet house’. A carpet for those who need a rest. We pray that God will bring people to us. But also to bring gas and water, make repairs, and make a place for the needy to stay.”
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