Irina Smirnova
Martyr
Saint Irina was born on April 16, 1891, in the village of Rameshki, Volokolamsk district of Moscow province. She was the starosta of the Nikolsky Church in the village of Cherlenkovo. In January 1938, Irina expressed her dissatisfaction with the Soviet government, condemning the arrests of clergymen and the unjust taxes imposed on the Church. In November 1937, she noted that under the Soviet regime, there was no good life, pointing to corruption and dekulakization. Irina was arrested and accused of counter-revolutionary agitation. On February 27, the NKVD troika sentenced her to execution. She was shot on March 7, 1938, and buried in an unmarked grave at the Butovo firing range near Moscow.
