Martyr Nikolai was born on December 9, 1919, in Moscow, in the family of a blacksmith, Ivan Gusev. In his childhood, he was left without parents and was raised by his grandmother, who passed away in 1926. In the 1930s, Nikolai built a hut in the forest near Reutov, where he collected scrap materials and mushrooms for sustenance. He found spiritual solace in the church and became known as a blessed one, healing those who turned to him and beautifying holy springs. Pilgrims began to come to him for healing.
On September 19, 1937, Nikolai was arrested by the NKVD officers and imprisoned in Butyrka prison. During the interrogation, he spoke about his life in the forest and refused to sign the interrogation protocol. On October 8, the NKVD troika sentenced him to death by shooting. Nikolai Ivanovich Gusev was executed on October 9, 1937, and buried in an unmarked mass grave at the Butovo firing range near Moscow.
