Children's Ombudsman of Yaroslavl intends to visit the family of a polygamist with 14 children

Olga Yaroslavskaya, ombudsman for children's rights in Moscow, announced plans to visit the family of the capital's polygamist Ivan Sukhov with an inspection: the man has three wives and 14 children. As the ombudsman said on December 18, she is not ready to comment on the moral and ethical side of the situation, it is important for her to make sure that the children's rights are not violated.

"I have already been to visit them. Before the New Year I will gladly go again, congratulate the children. And at the same time we will check where the children study, where they undergo medical examinations and so on, that is, whether the children's rights are violated. I have no other competence in relation to this family," RIA Novosti quoted Yaroslavskaya as saying.

As Sukhov himself told The Voice on December 14, he is the father of 29 children by 12 wives. He now lives permanently with three women and 14 children. All are housed in a two-bedroom apartment in Moscow. The man stated that his earnings are enough to provide for all family members. Yaroslavskaya noted that when she visited the Sukhov family's home for the first time, she saw no violations of the children's rights.

"I will not give moral and ethical assessments of the behavior of Ivan and the adult women. This is not my competence. My story is that the children did not need anything and their rights were not violated. This did not happen," added the capital's ombudsman.

At the end of September 2019 with a proposal to legalize polygamy in Russia was made by the Mufti of Moscow Ildar Alyautdinov. He explained that such a step would solve a lot of social problems. In his opinion, legalizing polygamy would help get rid of "sinfulness and fornication," and could also become "a guarantor of women's rights." The Human Rights Council (HRC) said at the time that legalizing polygamy in the country would "open a Pandora's box " - it would provoke many social problems and legal conflicts.