Motherland-stepmother: children were seized from a large family because of the repair problems

With requests to help make repairs, the family turned to local authorities more than once. Instead of helping, the mother was handcuffed.

Irina Mnishek

The video on which the children are seized has already bypassed social networks and regional resources of the Orenburg region. This sight is not for the faint of heart. A child’s cry, a little child who is pulled out of her mother’s hands, her resistance... In the end, the woman is handcuffed.

The removal of children from the family of Nikolai Samorok and Alena Lichtenwald was carried out by representatives of the Commission on Minors in conjunction with the police of the Dombarovsky district of the Orenburg region. The decision was made by the head of the municipal Dombarovsk district Valery Shvindt . Note: the removal of children was carried out without bailiffs. What happened in this rural large family? Why are four out of five children now in the hospital, in an overexposure, before being sent to an orphanage, and one child is with her grandmother? "NI" tried to reach the head of the municipal Dombarovsk district. However, in the reception room of Valery Ivanovich Shvindt, they told us that he was “at a meeting”, then “went to lunch”, then “call back in an hour” and so on. In the education department of the municipality of Dombarovsky district, too, people were completely busy: the department head, Vladimir Marbakh, was busy and not available from the very beginning of the working day.

The official version of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Orenburg region is: “Earlier, visits to this family for the purpose of verification in the composition of the commissions were carried out more than once. The mother of five children herself was brought to administrative responsibility three times for failure to fulfill the responsibilities of raising minors. So, in December last year, a child born in 2018 was hospitalized by an ambulance team and placed in intensive care. However, the mother did not let the doctor into the house to examine other children. Later, as part of the commission, the children were examined by a paramedic during which bodily injuries were found in the children, ”the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Orenburg Region reports. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also reported that the house in which a woman with children and their father has been living since 2017 is unsuitable for housing. And also in the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Orenberg region, we managed to find out that the Decree of the head of the Dombarovsky district of the Orenburg region on the removal of children was issued in connection with the “direct risk of collapse of the ceiling in the family’s home”...

So, literally overnight, the family hearth of a large and friendly family collapsed. In the literal and figurative sense of the word.

This drama has a background. According to Ural media, the family bought a house in the most remote village of the region - Tulip - with maternity capital more than two years ago. Parents with children did not live in it for some reason, they moved to Orsk. However, this year the family returned to the Dombarovsk district. But for more than two years, previously purchased housing has become dilapidated and has become practically unsuitable for housing a large family. The head of the family, Nikolai Samoroka, repeatedly appealed to the authorities for help, wrote letters stating that the house was in emergency condition and threatened security. But instead of helping, the district authorities decided to temporarily remove the children from the family until the adults put their houses in order.

From the comments on the forum "Ural 56.Ru".

Tanya Ivanova: “The conclusion is ... Do not ask the state at all. There is nothing worse than mother’s grief, it’s terrible to listen to it. Police fellows, dealt with a weak woman. She is not drunk, not a drug addict, it was they who broke into her house. But it’s not destiny to figure it out, you just need to chop off everything and take it away as the barbarians. ”

Native: “We unexpectedly found ourselves in captivity of the colonial administration. Now we are officially their slaves”.

To find out the details of what happened, we turned to the Ombudsman for the Orenburg Region, Angelika Linkova . As you know, she was appointed to this position recently. Prior to that, she worked as a senior assistant to the head of the CC SU of Russia in the Orenburg Region. NI received a brief comment from her: “The removal of children from the family was carried out in accordance with the decree of the head of the municipal Dombarovsky district of the Orenburg region.” After that, communication with the local ombudsman was interrupted and Angelica Valerievna no longer got in touch. Just like the head of the district Valery Shvindt and the head of the municipal education department Vladimir Marbakh. An optimistic comment was given only by the Minister of Education of the Orenburg Region Alexey Pakhomov. According to him, the authorities hope to return the children to the family, provided that they are provided with normal conditions. Here, however, the minister did not specify who would provide them with these conditions.

The situation in general is strange. The large family of Nikolai and Alena and their problems are reported only from the words of officials who initiated the removal of children from the family. Until now, no one from the regional government has contacted the family, all conclusions about the situation are made on the basis of data from the district guardianship and law enforcement agencies. What really happened there, none of those who made this strange decision could explain or did not want to.

Only representatives of public organizations, in particular, a member of the Public Chamber of the Orenburg Region, leader of the Anti-Dealer movement Denis Terskov, the author of a project to help families affected by isolation, thoroughly understood what happened. He arrived in the Dombarovsk district, talked with the parents of the seized children, visited their house, talked with the neighbors.

“During the 6 hours of the trial of Alena Lichtenwald, a mother of many children, no one doubted that she and her husband, Nikolai Samoroka, were normal, adequate people. I was at their house, there are a lot of toys, there are household appliances, there are no problems with food, the family has a car. The neighbors speak of them as good, hard-working people. Yes, there are problems of the household plan, but they are completely solvable", - Denis Terskov told NI.

What is the prospect of this family drama?

“Four children are now in a hospital in Orsk in front of a room before being placed in an orphanage. The fifth child was visiting his grandmother, so he avoided the sad fate of his brothers and sisters. Alyona and Nikolai are simple working village people. The husband works in a private entrepreneur, is engaged in drilling and installation of air conditioners. Mom, Alena Lichtenwald, before working on maternity leave worked at a mechanical plant. Yes, they really moved into a house bought with maternity capital, which turned out to be dilapidated. They tried to get help from the local authorities, but instead they took the children away”, - says Denis Terskov.

We asked how true the data of local authorities about the supposedly asocial lifestyle of the family, about the mother’s non-fulfillment of her parental responsibilities are true. For these accusations, in fact, as it turned out, there were banal everyday stories.

“Alena Lichtenwald really has five children, three from Nikolai Samorok. Nikolai treats all children as his own. Alyona and Nikolai for a long time lived in a civil marriage, now they have officially formalized their relationship and Nikolai, as a father, has fully assumed responsibility for all five children. The fact is that a lot of protocols have been drawn up on his wife, Alena, about police resistance, that she allegedly does not fulfill her parental duties. In fact, behind all this is the usual everyday situation. In 2018, her son fell ill. Alena called the doctor many times, but the doctor did not arrive immediately and for a long time could not make the boy the correct diagnosis - pneumonia. In the end, when the child was taken to the hospital, he was in serious condition, suffocating. Fortunately, everything worked out, the baby recovered. But her mother’s confidence in doctors was undermined. And when the doctors arrived at her house to examine the other children, she simply did not let them in. That's because of this, from scratch, a problem was fanned. In general, all the troubles of this family began when they began to assert their rights and ask the local authorities for help, ”says Denis Terskov.

The fact that the family will have to go through serious trials is clear right now. A trial took place against Alyona Lichtenwald, who charged her with resisting the police when seizing children. “Obviously, there will be a court on depriving Alena of her parental rights. It all comes down to housing. Before this trial, we want to help rent an apartment for them to return to the family of children. Then we plan to start repairing their housing at the expense of philanthropists. Because otherwise the children will be sent to the orphanage, and it will be a tragedy for everyone - both for children and for parents, ”Anna Mezhova , head of the Give Life charity foundation , shared with NI .

Denis Terskov, representative of the Public Chamber of the Orenburg Region, is also ready to join in the assistance to a large family: “We are ready to help them rent decent housing, and then we will seek the return of children to the family with lawyers. I think philanthropists will also help with the repair, ”said Denis Terskov.

It turns out an interesting story, don’t you? A large family asks the state to help with the repair. Not to buy a house, not to buy an apartment, but just to help make repairs. In response - pressure, complaints, and in the end weaning of children. After that, our state is not economical, but social activists and philanthropists at their own expense and at the expense of caring people will save a large family from separation, renting an apartment, making repairs ... This happens, I remind you, when help is being raised from high federal stands, primarily material, parents and children. But instead of helping, a mother with many children is handcuffed and begins to judge.

By the way, for the Orenburg region this situation is not unique. In April this year, a similar case occurred in Orenburg. Children were removed from the family due to the fact that the house had not been repaired for a long time, the lights and gas were turned off for debts. However, after a public outcry, two weeks later, the children were returned to their parents. And here a big question arises for the system of work of government at the regional level. In fact, there is a manipulation of children in families in a difficult life situation.

“I think this is blasphemy. Need to change the system. How many times have we, the leaders of charitable foundations, non-profit organizations, and volunteer groups, called on the authorities to work together, together, hear us and help us. Why have we still not built a human system of working with such families, why it was impossible to come with a psychologist, to turn to us for help? And to chop like that right away with such methods?”, - Natalya Tolmacheva, the project manager of the Center for NGO Development and Charity in the Orenburg Region, is outraged.

So far, all the questions asked to the authorities remain unanswered. Everyone is busy. As a result, children suffer, who are held hostage to issues that adults can and must solve.

What will children think about such a state when they grow up?