Support The Moscow Times!

Woman Handed Prison Sentence for Abandoning Child in Freezing Temperatures

Dmitry Feoktistov / TASS

A woman from the western Russian region of Altai has reportedly been sentenced to three and a half years behind bars for leaving her son on an unheated veranda in the dead of winter.

According to investigators, the defendant left her two-year-old son alone on her porch in the town of Gornyak on January 18 while she visited a friend. A neighbor found the son unattended and called the police.

"The court, evaluating the evidence gathered during the investigation, found the defendant guilty,” Olga Chesnokova, the senior assistant to the regional head of the Investigative Committee was cited as saying by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

The investigation also turned up evidence that, in March, the woman had robbed a neighbor’s house.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more