Masha Moskalyova’s mother declared her desire to take her daughter from the shelter

The mother of 13-year-old Masha Moskaleva, who is in an orphanage, and whose father was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of discrediting the Russian army, said she wanted to take the girl home. According to Olga Sitchikhina, guardianship authorities and some officials have already inspected the house in the Tambov region where she lives with her second husband, and “approved the living conditions.” In addition, Sytchikhina claims that Masha Moskalyova herself asked to take her out of the shelter.

It is known that earlier the girl refused to live with her mother, however, according to Sytchikhina, the father is to blame for this, who allegedly forbade Masha to communicate with her. At the same time, the woman promised to “crush” her daughter’s thoughts about “politics”, “anti-propaganda and drawings”.

On Thursday, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Russia, Maria Lvova-Belova, said that she had spoken with Masha Moskaleva and that she “longs for her father and wants to see him.” However, according to Lvova-Belova, Moskaleva’s father allegedly “repeatedly violated the law, which is why he was forbidden to communicate with his daughter” and “repeatedly brought to administrative responsibility for improper performance of parental duties.” At the same time, the ombudsman admitted that Masha had a difficult relationship with her mother, and that Olga Sytchikhina “practically did not participate in her daughter’s life.” Commenting on the situation as a whole, Lvova-Belova said that it was “specially used for the purposes of anti-Russian propaganda, involving the child as a means of achieving their goals.” Who exactly is doing it – the authorized representative did not specify.

In the spring of last year, sixth-grader Masha Moskalyova drew a picture of a woman standing next to the flag of Ukraine and shielding a child from rockets flying from Russia. The drawing teacher told the school principal about this, and turned to the police. The apartment of Masha and her father, who was raising her daughter alone, was searched. In Alexey Moskalev’s social networks, the police found comments in support of Ukraine, as well as caricatures of Russian President Vladimir Putin. After that, they first drew up a report on him under the article of the Administrative Code on the discrediting of the Russian army, fined him 32 thousand rubles, and then opened a criminal case on the same charge. Moskalev Sr. was placed under house arrest, and his daughter was sent to a rehabilitation center for minors. In the orphanage, the girl’s mobile phone was taken away, she was not allowed to communicate with her father, and human rights activists and volunteers were not allowed to visit her.

On March 12, the Juvenile Affairs Commission of the city of Efremov, Tula region, filed a lawsuit to restrict Alexei Moskalyov’s parental rights. The same lawsuit was filed against Masha’s mother, who did not live with the family.

On March 28, the Efremovsky district court sentenced Alexei Moskalev to two years in a general regime colony. The defendant was not present at the hearing, as he had escaped from house arrest the day before.

On Wednesday, mass media published Masha Moskaleva’s letter, which she wrote from the shelter. In it, she emphasizes that she loves her father, calls him her hero, urges him not to give up, and expresses hope for a quick meeting. Separately, the girl indicates that she does not want to write about her health and mood, so as not to upset her father, who “did everything right.”

On the same day, Moskalyov was detained in Minsk by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus.