Half a million on the streets. 3 million children without parental care in Russia.

The estimates for the number of street children in Russia vary a lot, but the figures from 2002-2004 suggest that there might be app. 500 000 children living permanently or occasionally on the streets (which means that they stay in basements, attics, railway stations, pipe tunnels, manholes). In addition to these children there are neglected children who anyway are able to live in their homes.

Among the latest is the estimate on April 28 of 2005 by Sergei Fridinski, vice main procuror of the Russian Federation. He said that now in Russia there are more street children and neglected children ("besprizornye i beznadzornye deti") than after the war and the figures are approaching a catastrophic level. According to his information, there are 1,5-2 million such children. However, he said that the statistical information does not show the whole truth and figures which would be close to 4 million.

Fridinski also stated that the law passed in 1999 on preventing homelessness of children has not brought satisfactory results and it is not being adequately fulfilled in different regions of Russia.

Cities are “cleansed”, but the children return to the streets

Since 2002 in the largest cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg), by president Putin's orders the Police are moving street children to orphanages and to cities where they have come from. Many children run back to the streets.

“Fearing of being caught, the children have moved from railway stations to parks or other places”, says Marina Dolbina from our Moscow patrol.

At the moment the center of the street children's problem in Russia are the lasrge Siberian cities where the situation is as it used to be in Moscow and St. Petersburg a couple of years ago with many young children.

Children rescued from the streets

Says Marina, “Our task is to pull children out of this bondage. We continuously talk and try to open those children’s eyes who don’t understand the consequences of street life.”

“We have encouraged and helped many children to return to their homes or orphanages. In spite of the fact that the life there may be problematic and poor, they are a better option than the street life that quickly makes incurable damage to the children.”

“Sometimes a small concrete help is enough to make children return home: We paid 15-year-old Anya her train ticket and she is now back with her family and we receive letters from her. Siblings from the city of Rostov returned home by the beginning of school year when we just bought them the study necessities they needed and some decent clothes so that they wouldn’t need to be ashamed among the other children. Several new children have been housed in our shelter home.” In 2002, we helped over 50 children off the streets.