Saint John (Ivan Mikhailovich Granitov) was born in 1875, was ordained a priest, and appointed rector of the Nikolaev Church in the stanitsa of Talgar, Vernensky District, Semirechye Region. On February 11, 1920, during the onset of godless persecutions, he was arrested by the Bolsheviks on charges of counter-revolutionary activities. During the torture, the priest cried out: “Do not renounce God!” His suffering led to the intervention of Deacon Konstantin (Konstantin Ivanovich Zverev), who was killed on the spot. Priest John was shot in the night from February 11 to 12, 1920, and his body was thrown into a ravine near the cemetery.
Saint Konstantin was born in 1881, graduated from the Vernensky Classical Gymnasium and the Tashkent Teacher's Seminary, and served in the Nikolaev Church in the village of Talgar. He was killed while trying to defend John.
Saint Leonty (Klimenko) was born in 1887 and served in the village of Yevgenyevka, Vernensky District. He was also shot in the night from February 11 to 12, 1920, along with John Granitov. The bodies of the saints were buried in an unmarked grave near the stanitsa of Talgar.
