Meet Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova

Meeting with Putin on the eve of International Children's Day

Attractive, intelligent and very motivated, Maria Lvova-Belova.

And she has a very strong will as this image unveils. The women on Team Putin are exemplary. You’ll discover that trait within her as you read the dialog between her and Putin, which is rather unidirectional. This is the woman the Outlaw US Empire wanted to sanction and arrest for doing her job advocating for children—ALL children—not just Russian children. While reading, think of how the overall policy goal of strong families is key to keeping Russia Russian and is the first step in defending against the intrusion of Western malformities of all types.

Vladimir Putin: Maria Alekseyevna, we are meeting on the eve of Children's Day. There is nothing more important not only for any family, but also for the state, than children. You are engaged in a very important and noble cause.

Where do we start?

Maria Lvova-Belova : Mr President, I am very glad to see you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Maria Lvova-Belova: Let me tell you about the results of our work and share the suggestions that we have prepared for you.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the Year of the Family, for the Decree on supporting large families. In fact, we are witnessing the revival of the large multi-generational family in Russia. This is the goal of everyone's efforts: both state bodies, society, and our Institute for Children's Rights, of course, work in the focus of the family, because we understand that the most important thing that a child can have is a family.

We traveled as a team through most of the country, and I try to meet big families in the regions. The Year of the Family, Vladimir Vladimirovich, opened in the Nenets Autonomous District, in a tent with a large family of ten children and ten grandchildren. Of course, life is so amazing, and we have a lot to learn from them, they are there each for each other: boys graze deer, girls help in the tent. Of course, there's no other way to survive in the tundra.

Vladimir Putin: How do they fit all in one tent?

Maria Lvova-Belova: Yes, all in one tent, it's true, such an unforgettable experience.

And in the Tambov region, at a meeting with large families, I was approached by a mother with many children, who has an older child with a disability, and he is studying at a distance form of education. Now, according to the Decree, Vladimir Vladimirovich, it turns out that until the age of 23, the eldest child retains the status of [disabled] if he is studying full-time. But we understand that full-time education is not always available for young people with disabilities. And I think that it would be fair to extend the age of these children to 23 years without taking into account the full-time form, that is, so that this family can keep the status with such a child until the age of 23.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, if the person cannot study full-time.

Maria Lvova-Belova: Of course, of course, it turns out that yes.

Vladimir Putin: All right, all right, I agree.

M. Lvova-Belova: As for domestic tourism, it is now actively developing, and our large families also, of course, want to travel. But we understand that hospitality services are not always ready for the arrival of a family with a large number of children. Even the number of rooms – how can two rooms accommodate a family with five children? This is quite difficult.

Therefore, we suggest that you approve the quality mark "Families are welcome" in the service sector, which, on the one hand, will allow us to see a map of where a family can go, where it will be welcome, on the other hand, to develop and stimulate our infrastructure of hospitality for large families.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

Maria Lvova-Belova: People are increasingly turning to us for help, Mr President. The number of citizens ' appeals increased by 21 percent – 14,587 appeals last year. We understand that this is recognition, trust, and a high level of responsibility for us. But the only thing I want to note here is that 3,500 appeals have been received-targeted humanitarian aid-from our new regions.

Vladimir Putin: An increase of 21 percent?

Maria Lvova-Belova: Yes. We hope that this is due to trust.

Every time we visit the regions, of course, our focus is on families where there is a risk of withdrawal of a child, especially a small child, when he needs loving and caring hands.

Thank you very much for supporting our project to prevent social orphanhood among children under the age of four. In other words, Mr Putin, we have done everything in 14 pilot regions to ensure that children who have been placed in orphanages are returned to their families, and if there is a threat in their families, then we must do everything to ensure that children do not get there.

To do this, a whole system was built: services, clubs where these parents could come and get support, and specialists. But the most important thing is to change the mindset, Mr President, that removal and placement in an institution is an extreme measure. As long as we have the resources, we need to do everything possible to save the family.

1,411 babies were transferred to families in nine months, mostly to their native families, a small part went to substitute ones. The number of children staying in institutions at the same time has decreased by 18 percent. Now we have four and a half thousand families on the road in these regions.

According to our estimates, currently 58 thousand children are in institutions, 32 thousand of them are orphans, and the rest are their parents ' children. If we take more children who are brought up in families with a socially dangerous situation – where there is a risk and threat, then there will be even more of them for 200 thousand children. Accordingly, we understand that the issue of social orphanhood requires additional study and attention.

If we take history with you, for example, then in the 90s our main task was to collect children from the street and put them in institutions. In the 2000s, we were engaged in transferring them to foster families, and the whole program was designed for this. It seems to me that now is the time for us to focus on our native families and start actively interacting with them.

As far as the economy is concerned, Mr Putin, I am passing through [the regions]: the cost of maintaining one child in an institution is at least 1.2 million rubles a year, and there are regions where 3.5 million rubles are needed. In other words, we understand that a lot of money is being spent. Plus, this child is further followed by social guarantees: apartments, free education, social payments, and so on, while the child remains an orphan, remains without close people.

Sometimes a little help is enough for a family. I came to the region: imagine, three children in an institution. They began to understand: the mother is rural, [in the house] the stove is not working, the children were taken away – the children live in the institution for four months, they have already spent more than a million on them, and the stove costs 90 thousand rubles. Mr Putin, this is wrong, you know, and our task is to do everything we can to support our family and prevent this from happening. Now we have intervened, the children have been returned to their mother, the stove has been repaired, and we are working on this further. But, Vladimir Vladimirovich, considering…

Vladimir Putin: Where was it, I wonder?

Maria Lvova-Belova: I don't really want to substitute the region.

Vladimir Putin: But look, this isn't a joke, it's an outrage.

Maria Lvova-Belova: Mr President, this is actually a widespread practice.

Vladimir Putin: Where was it, please tell me?

M. Lvova-Belova: It was the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

Maria Lvova-Belova: But we talked to the governor and agreed that we will completely change the system, since he has just arrived, and we have agreed that we will completely change the system. Now they have introduced a commission – after my arrival, after we identified [cases]. Because, Mr Putin, this is not a violation. A child in an institution – yes, really difficult life circumstances, he was placed. On the part of the institution-no [violations], on the part of the guardianship authorities-too, they took it away.

Vladimir Putin: The institutions should have contacted the local authorities, and they should have responded, not taken the children away.

M. Lvova-Belova: This is important, of course, Mr Putin, this is an important issue. Now the governor and I have made a big project to prevent social orphanhood. And I ask you not to repeat such cases in our country, and seeing the results of the program that we had with you for small children, expand this program to the all-Russian one and increase the age of children to 18 years-where there is a risk of getting a child into an institution, if you approve.

But there is another important point, Mr President, that I would like to draw your attention to. The regions have different law enforcement practices, different subordinates, different coordination of ministries and departments, different statistics, different budgets, and staffing levels. That is, you just look-who is in the forest, who is on firewood. I'm really, honestly, very worried about it.

And when we start to deal with all this, we understand that each department has its own task. For example: we are coming to a region, a children's home, or an emergency department, and we have just delivered a baby. I say: what about the baby? The institution says: our task is to take care of the child. I say: well, the guardianship authorities and social services; what about the child, what about the family? Oh, the mother is going to refuse, there is something about health. Health care: what about the child, what about the family? We don't know about the family, we don't know about the pathology with the child, we know the diagnoses.

We call the mother, a rural mother, two children, a normal mother. Says: I gave birth to an unknown animal, the baby does not have an ear shell. And we sit, and I say: what kind of ear do you want your baby to have, do you want a big one, do you want a small one, and do you want to make her an elf ear? She looks at me like that, says: can I do this? And after that, the adoption process began, and specialists were connected. Now they are in the RDKB prosthetics and go back home to their older brothers.

This is just a conversation about how everyone has their own powers, but there is no focus on the family.

Vladimir Putin: There is no coordination.

Maria Lvova-Belova: There is no coordination. Resonances, Mr President, you regularly pay attention to this. Guardianship was withdrawn, deprived of rights, restricted due to domestic problems, low financial status, but this is generally the Stone Age! This shouldn't happen. And separations – why should they be separated in a situation where there are domestic problems? Put yourself in a maneuverable fund, make a rental housing program, and at the same time work with your family, strengthen this story, and invest resources in it.

And personnel security, Mr Putin. 85 employees – this is straight out of practice-for five children. Naturally, they will not be interested in passing on the children. They will do everything to keep them, because they have such a state task.

So, Mr President, I think it's time to sort things out and put things in order. I am ready to join the process and ask you to instruct me to conduct an all-Russian inspection of guardianship authorities, juvenile affairs commissions, and prevention systems with a ready-made special report in a year and with proposals for reforming the system.

Vladimir Putin: Talk to the Administration. I will issue a separate instruction on this issue.

M. Lvova-Belova: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, these Augean stables will be cleaned out in the end.

Vladimir Putin: In any case, we need to work in this direction.

Maria Lvova-Belova: To try, yes, to try.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

M. Lvova-Belova: Thank you very much.

You supported our initiative to pay children who were injured as a result of attacks in Ukraine. And we are currently in contact with the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, with the Social Insurance Fund, 206 children have already received payments, 111 – the main part is the Donetsk People's Republic. And the rest, we understand, are our new regions and border areas – children moved around the country and, accordingly, received payments locally.

We have a small question there, which is related to children who received medical care in mobile hospitals, when they did not have any medical documents in their hands and they could not confirm it. We are currently working on improving the mechanism. I'm sure we'll find a way out.

We continue our work to reunite children with their loved ones during the special military operation. As you instructed, we help in cases where there are relatives and parents who have full rights. Of course, we don't take all the cases, we have already reunited, but difficult cases are all ours. We reunited 70 children with their relatives in Ukraine.

I would like to note separately that children in Russia were mostly with their loved ones, and in rare cases they ended up in institutions. For example, when a mother arrived – she died. We had such a case, and we passed it on to my sister in Ukraine. Or the grandmother took her granddaughter from the Kherson orphanage, but could not confirm her relationship, and did a DNA test for her.

Vladimir Putin: But they all understand that the children ended up on the territory of Russia, because we saved them from shelling, from the war zone.

Maria Lvova-Belova: Mr President, this is the situation here. When they communicate with me personally, because I always try to participate personally in these moments, it's just rhetoric. Only they cross the Ukrainian border, and there begins a completely different song, when they tell how difficult everything was here, how they were held. But in reality, we are working with our Russian partners – the FSB border service and our regions-but also with international partners: international representatives of the Red Cross, the State of Qatar, the Vatican, the border Service of the Republic of Belarus.

And here I would like to mention a separate topic that concerns the State of Qatar as our international mediator. They just perform the function of fixing that this happened, that it was, that the situation is really not connected with any aggression. And here it should be noted that we returned six children to Russia from Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin: I had the following question: do our children come back from abroad?

Maria Lvova-Belova: Yes, six children. But Ukraine does not mention this, because then it will immediately be clear that this is not related to our "aggression" and our "capture" of children, but simply to military operations and family situations. Therefore, three children were recently returned to the Belgorod family.

Vladimir Putin: Good. God be with them, these are all political games, and the main thing is that children should be reunited with their native people, that families should be reunited, that they should be happy.

Maria Lvova-Belova: Of course, of course. We are acting in the interests of children, Mr Putin.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

M. Lvova-Belova: What we need [we are doing].

And as for the State of Qatar: on their territory, in Doha, we held the first direct talks with Ukraine, where we recorded a list of 29 children, Mr Putin – not thousands, not tens of thousands, as they actually claim, but just 29 children - and six of them have already been returned.

Vladimir Putin: Good. But this work should be outside politics and should be exclusively humanitarian in nature.

M. Lvova-Belova: In the interests of children, yes, that's exactly what we do.

Supporting children with disabilities is a big area of work, but here I will focus only on one thing: we are actively opening day-care centers. You have agreed on this work, when families with children with disabilities can bring the child for a few hours – as an extended day group - at this time to exhale, and the child communicates with peers.

This is especially true for new regions. When we were in Lugansk, we opened [the center], a mother alone tells me: you know, I have a baby in a wheelchair, but I can't even go outside with him, because if there are attacks, I won't be able to escape; and only in the house all the time, only in the apartment, and so there is the possibility of another place: I have time, and the child develops. That is why we have continued this work this year. We have now announced a grant competition and will support 15 other regions to open similar centers.

We understand that this is such an incentive, Mr Putin. Of course, we will not open the entire grid, but we will encourage the regions to work in this direction, because these are the current support measures.

My favorite teenagers: for two years of working on this profile, on this topic, we have significantly changed the attitude towards this category of children. Now we have 80 large youth centers of a new type, where teenagers spend their free time. But it is important that many people have now started to open "corners of the teenager". This is also true in shopping centers, libraries, and some clubs, where the child is under supervision, while communicating with peers, playing board games, and not walking around somewhere where we are worried about him.

When they opened it, they thought it was for teenagers, but it turned out that parents were also interested. And now 900 organizations are holding "parents' living rooms", where we teach parents how to communicate with teenagers, how to react, how to spend time with them.

Working with children in conflict with the law. When we met, you said: it's not a pity – you allocated funds, and we held shifts for thousands of teenagers. The result was good. Based on the results, we have methodological material for specialists, the program has been developed…

Vladimir Putin: Where do you spend your time?

M. Lvova-Belova: We have conducted programs for thousands of teenagers in all districts, and now we have transferred all the programs to the regions.

Vladimir Putin: Three shifts?

Maria Lvova-Belova: No, we will do it, it is planned. Nine of them were held in this way, and three federal ones are planned, and each region will have its own shift for its teenagers, taking into account our recommendations and documents.

Accompanied employment of teenagers is our theme for this year. Together with job search platforms, we have created a database of vacancies for teenagers. On the one hand, it is important for us to motivate employers to hire teenagers, especially during the summer period, during the holidays, and on the other hand, to protect teenagers so that our employer is as responsible as possible and understands what this is about.

We have developed a standard for responsible employment with all positions together with the Prosecutor's Office, and we are currently working on this in the regions. In other words, we take our large employers, where young people do internships.

Separately, I would like to focus on career guidance. Here we work with Roscosmos. To bring back this cosmic romance of the 60s, we decided to start now with our younger generation, and here we have a number of projects being prepared.

Support for children from new regions, Vladimir Vladimirovich. Here we conduct shifts for teenagers and now their families, almost three thousand children have passed. The main task is to provide psychological support and support to these children, because we understand that post-traumatic disorder from the shelling [of those] who have been sitting in bomb shelters regularly since 2014. Children come with bread because they are afraid that there will not be enough food, they hide water bottles under the bed because they are afraid that there will be no water, and they charge their phones all the time.

So that we can work with this, we are now training local specialists, and we have developed a psychological program with our leading university so that children can cope with their difficult period.

Vladimir Putin: If, as you said, we have been sitting in basements since 2014, then this is a serious injury, of course.

Maria Lvova-Belova: We will work hard.

We continue to help new regions-I regularly go there, visit them regularly, and work with the heads of regions. What is important: two days ago, the last Commissioner for Children's Rights of the Kherson region was approved, so we now have everything-both advisers on children and commissioners in the regions. We solve problems of social orphanhood, help institutions to restore human resources, improve the level of specialists and the regulatory framework.

Assistance to the families of SVO participants. Here, of course, the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation and the Committee of Soldiers of the Fatherland largely work out.

Vladimir Putin: Are you in contact with them?

Maria Lvova-Belova: Yes, we communicate very closely, but I still try to meet with families when traveling, and my representatives meet, and we work out some things that concern children and families in general. Recently, a house for a family with seven children was renovated in the Belgorod region, and now they are waiting for their dad and his family in a normal house.

Despite all the sanctions, we continue to cooperate internationally together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I will only focus on two points here.

Our children, who are being brought back from Syria on your instructions – 123 children have been returned this year-are undergoing rehabilitation, and we are integrating them into the Russian reality of education, social assistance, and all other issues.

We also have Africa, and you also supported us last time. Now we have started humanitarian projects in both Kenya and the Congo: we are opening computer labs, medical laboratories, poultry houses, and agricultural farms so that families can somehow support themselves.

In principle, I outlined the key vectors in my speech. I hope for your support in our future work.

Vladimir Putin: So it will be. Thank you for this work, thank you. [My Emphasis]

I do wonder what was said after the cameras were turned off. She turns 40 this October and has held her position since 2021. TASS ran an article recapping what is considered the important points. That Qatar’s involved is curious to the SMO repatriation issue. I do want to highlight something Putin said: “God be with them, these are all political games, and the main thing is that children should be reunited with their native people, that families should be reunited, that they should be happy.” And it wasn’t just Russian families he referred to. I’d never heard the term social orphanhood before, although the dynamic is clear. The 1990s Rape of Russia was clearly hard on many children, and it was likely very formative for her.

What’s most impressive for me is the underpinnings of Russia’s social policies and the understanding that the state must be a participant. That the government is a collective endeavor to provide the basics that promote excellent social heath, what’s now derided as the “Nanny State’ by the Neoliberal West where its society is rapidly polarizing and social welfare is plummeting. Clearly, Russia isn’t the perfect nation from a social POV as it has problems that are similar to most other nations. But its policies are clearly aimed at trying to solve the greatest percentage of problems possible. The next article will add more to the overall picture of Social Russia as the executives of two state supported NGOs talk with Putin.

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