Presbyter
Hieromartyr Vladimir was born on 26 March 1863 in the village of Smolevichi, Borisov Uyezd, Minsk Governorate. In 1885 he graduated from the Minsk Theological Seminary and served as a junior inspector in the Minsk excise administration. In 1887 he was appointed psalm-reader at the Starchitsy church. On 29 June 1888 he was ordained a deacon, and on 3 July, a priest.
He served in the church in Smolevichi and was a teacher of the Law of God at the Smolevichi public school. For his successful teaching of the Law of God he received an official commendation. From 1893 he was a member of the deanery council, served as a supervisor of parish schools, and taught the Law of God at the Minsk girls’ school. On 11 May 1901 he was appointed rector of the church in Smolevichi.
In the 1930s the priest was repeatedly summoned to the NKVD; they mocked the clergy and demanded that he renounce the priesthood. In 1935 the authorities closed the Smolevichi church, but the priest secretly baptized children.
On 29 December 1937 Fr. Vladimir was arrested and accused of belonging to a “spy counterrevolutionary insurgent organization,” allegedly led by Bishop Philaret (Ramensky) of Bobruisk. During interrogations Fr. Vladimir courageously endured all ordeals. He was sentenced to execution by shooting by an NKVD troika. Archpriest Vladimir Zubkovich was shot in Minsk on 31 January 1938.
