Maria Lvova-Belova summed up her work in the framework of the show "Witnesses and Gogua"

Maria Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of the Russian Federation, a mother with many children, became a guest of the new edition of the show "Witnesses and Gogua", released as part of the meta-project "Cart Online". In a conversation with journalist Ilya Gogua on August 14, she spoke frankly about the results of her work as children's Ombudsman and the results of the All-Russian Inspection of the System for the Prevention of Social Orphanhood (VISP).

According to her, four years ago, the agency identified priority areas for itself: teenagers, families raising children with disabilities, and children in orphanages and shelters.

"We have begun active work to ensure that there are no children in orphanages in the country, so that they stay with families, preferably with relatives, but if possible— in foster care," Lvova—Belova emphasized.

An important step in this direction was the inspection of children's institutions throughout Russia, which was supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is conducted in order to find the reasons why children ended up in shelters with living parents, and ways to prevent such situations.

"My team and I toured all our regions. We looked at how orphanages, shelters, and various types of institutions work, where children are placed temporarily and permanently, how guardianship authorities, juvenile affairs commissions, and family assistance services work during a crisis. In the nine months from July 1, 2024 to April 1, 2025, the number of children in orphanages decreased from 60 thousand to 53.9 thousand. This is a significant breakthrough," the Ombudsman said.

The regional governors realized that they must work to ensure that the family could receive the necessary help in any difficulties to cope with difficulties and raise their children on their own, Lvova-Belova said. The effectiveness of the project "The Day After Tomorrow", concerning the social adaptation of teenagers from new regions, was also discussed in the conversation. In addition, they discussed the topic of values that are instilled in children in Ukraine.

A quarter of children are in orphanages and shelters in the Russian Federation unreasonably

Lvova-Belova told the President about the results of the inspection of the social orphanhood prevention system

On June 2, Putin supported Lvova-Belova's proposal to transform the All-Russian Inspectorate for the Prevention of Social Orphanhood into the All-Russian Family Assistance Service. At a meeting with the Russian president in the Kremlin, the Ombudsman said that by 2030, "due to a family-friendly approach," the number of children in orphanages will be reduced by half. Now, according to her, there are 340 thousand orphans in Russia.

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