Martyr Vasily was born in 1869 in the city of Moscow in the family of a blacksmith, Sergey Ivanov. After finishing school, he became a blacksmith and the owner of a forge, providing a sufficient income. Despite the persecution of the Soviet authorities, he became the elder of the church and maintained connections with exiled peasants. On March 26, 1932, he was arrested and imprisoned in Butyrka prison. During the interrogation, he denied all accusations, confirming his active participation in church life. On June 22, 1932, he was sentenced to three years of conditional exile and returned home.
During the destruction of the Church in the late 1930s, he was arrested on January 18, 1938, and imprisoned in Taganka prison. During the interrogation, he confirmed his religious beliefs and denied any provocations. On February 14, the NKVD troika sentenced him to execution. Vasily Sergeyevich Ivanov was shot on February 17, 1938, and buried in an unknown common grave at the Butovo shooting range near Moscow.
