In the Novgorod region, an official took custody of someone else's child with a living great-grandmother

The head of the Soletsky district in the Novgorod region, Maxim Timofeev, took custody of a child with a living great-grandmother. Olga Adamovich, a resident of Vologda, told Izvestia about the custody situation of her great-granddaughter Nika on April 20.

The girl ended up in an orphanage after both of her parents died: her mother very recently, and her father in 2024. The baby's maternal great-grandmother decided that she would become a guardian for the baby, but everything turned out to be not so simple.

The Vologda city guardianship has put forward conditions: to prepare an apartment and collect documents. Everything was ready as soon as possible, and the woman came to pick up Nika, but she was no longer at the orphanage. According to Daria, Nika's godmother, up to this point, the guardianship authorities had been trying to persuade the woman to give up her great—granddaughter, as the official's family was interested in her.

"I was horrified by such an offer," Adamovich shared, adding that she refused, but the child was given to the official anyway.

The last time Adamovich was able to see her beloved great—granddaughter was through the fence, when she was taken away by her guardian, the official's wife. Nika recognized her relatives and even wanted to run up to her godmother, but the girl was pulled away by the hand.

The official who took custody of the girl while her great-grandmother was alive told Izvestia that the only way out in this situation was to unite the families.

"It's good when a child has two or three grandmothers. For example, I haven't had a mother or a grandmother for a long time. If we have another grandmother in our family, God grant you, as long as Nika is happy," the official said in an interview with Izvestia.

He added that the main victim in the current situation is a child, therefore, in his opinion, it is necessary to find the courage to gather at a "round table" and decide how to raise a girl.

However, the child's godmother noticed a discrepancy in the dates. According to her, they applied for custody of the girl on January 26, but the guardianship authorities reported that the child "liked one official." The great-grandmother refused to give Nick away, but custody from the official was issued on February 20. The grandmother was not informed about the incident — she found out about it only upon arrival. In addition, according to the godmother, the official who took the child claims that he provides the girl with a "good life."

"I didn't see where they claimed in the reply that they bought scooters, puzzles. Well, excuse me, but any family can buy scooters and puzzles," she said.

Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, took personal control of Nika Ostanina's case. The court hearing in the case, which was supposed to take place on April 21, was postponed to April 27 due to the end of working hours.

Close people: how guardianship authorities separate children from relatives

In two regions of Russia, blood families are trying to return children who were given to other guardians.

On April 14, Maria Yarmush, a lawyer in civil and international law, told what would happen to the children of blogger Lerchek (real name — Valeria Chekalin) after Artem Chekalin's imprisonment. At the moment, Chekalina, who is undergoing rehabilitation after treatment, can stay with the children and take care of them. According to the expert, even during treatment, children are not removed from the family: care can be arranged with the help of relatives or a babysitter. However, if the case against Chekalina is reopened or her condition worsens, the situation may change: custody may be transferred to relatives or designated persons, and in their absence, a foster family will be chosen for the children.