State street children

The Prosecutor General's Office of Russia discovered the appalling state of Russian orphanages

After a high-profile campaign dedicated to the international adoption of orphans and violations in this area, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office turned its attention to those children abandoned by their parents who remain in their homeland. As evidenced by the results of the audit, those officials who advocate for the prohibition of international adoption are in fact dooming orphans to a half-starved and miserable existence in a “government home.” State guarantees for social support for children left without parental care remain on paper.

Yesterday, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Sergei Fridinsky sent to the Minister of Health and Social Development of Russia Mikhail Zurabov a proposal to eliminate violations of the “orphan” legislation. According to Mr. Fridinsky, recent inspections by specialists from his department revealed that “in many regions the legislation is violated and guarantees, therefore, are not fulfilled.”

The examples given in the document are horrifying. For example, in orphanages for mentally retarded children in Mordovia, expenses per pupil per day in 2005 amounted to 2.79 rubles, in Karelia in a similar boarding school - 1.4 rubles, and in a social rehabilitation center for minors "Nadezhda" Petrozavodsk only 30 kopecks per day per pupil. In children's institutions of the Komi Republic, Krasnoyarsk and Krasnodar territories, Ivanovo and Penza regions, pupils are not only malnourished, but also half-naked: the provision of clothes and shoes in some orphanages here ranges from 72 to 85% of the need.

The premises of many specialized institutions in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Astrakhan, Ivanovo, Penza and other regions do not meet sanitary and hygienic requirements and are in need of major repairs. And in the Krasnodar Territory, the underfunding of expenditure items for major repairs, the purchase of equipment, clothing and shoes for children in a number of institutions reaches 40%.

Moreover, even such “institutions” are not enough. In the republics of Altai, Karelia, Komi, Mordovia, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk and Ivanovo regions, St. Petersburg, there is even a waiting list for children's homes, boarding schools for disabled children, and social shelters. In the Irkutsk region alone, 233 children are waiting their turn to be sent to orphanages for mentally retarded children.

At the same time, orphans who are offended by fate and the state are also openly robbed by local officials. For example, in one of the regions of Buryatia, the administration of a boarding school paid for ten students’ trips to a summer camp for a total amount of 78.4 thousand rubles. at the expense of their own pensions, although in accordance with current legislation, these children are provided with free camp vouchers. In 2005 alone, and in the Kemerovo region alone, the regional prosecutor’s office filed 1,900 lawsuits totaling 6 million rubles in the interests of minors.

It is noteworthy that the findings of the Prosecutor General’s Office do not promise anything encouraging for orphans in the near future. “Insufficient funding for children's health care institutions from budgets at all levels does not allow us to fully solve the problems associated with the organization of their activities,” concluded Mr. Fridinsky.

Irina BELASHEVA