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Maria Lvova-Belova

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Alexeyevna and the family name is Lvova-Belova.

Maria Lvova-Belova
Мария Львова-Белова
Мария Алексеевна Львова-Белова (cropped).jpg
Lvova-Belova in 2020
Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of Russia
Assumed office
27 October 2021
PresidentVladimir Putin
Preceded byAnna Kuznetsova
Senator
from Penza Oblast
In office
21 September 2020 – 27 October 2021
Preceded byAlexey Dmitriyenko
Succeeded byNikolay Kondratyuk
Personal details
Born (1984-10-25) 25 October 1984 (age 38)
Penza, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Political partyUnited Russia[1]
Spouse
Pavel Kogelman
​
(m. 2003)​
Children23 (5 biological, 18 adopted)

Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova (Russian: Мария Алексеевна Львова-Белова, pronounced [mɐˈrʲijə ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvnə lʲvəvə bʲɪɫəvə]; born 25 October 1984) is a Russian politician serving as the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights in Russia since 2021.

On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[2]

Childhood and non-political career[]

Lvova-Belova was born on 25 October 1984. Born and raised in Penza, Lvova-Belova graduated from the A. A. Arkhangelsky College of Culture and Arts in 2002 as a conductor.[3] From 2000 to 2005, she worked as a guitar teacher at children's music schools in Penza. She cofounded and headed the Penza regional public organization for promoting social adaptation "Blagovest."

Political career[]

From 2011 to 2014 and 2017 to 2019, she was a member of the Civic Chamber of Penza Oblast, the latter term overlapping one in the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation.[4] In 2019, she was elected co-chair of the All-Russia People's Front regional headquarters.[5]

In 2019, Lvova-Belova joined the United Russia party (the ID card was given to her on 23 November by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev). On 24 November, she was elected to the Presidium of the General Council of the United Russia, and she became the co-chair of the working group to support civil society. In September 2020, reelected governor of Penza Oblast Ivan Belozertsev appointed her to the Federation Council of Russia from Penza Oblast's executive branch.[6] After the 2021 snap election, she was reappointed by Oleg Melnichenko.

Children's Rights Commissioner for Putin[]

On 27 October 2021, Russian president Vladimir Putin appointed Senator Maria Lvova-Belova as the federal Commissioner for Children's Rights, one month after previous commissioner Anna Kuznetsova became an MP.[7]

Russo-Ukrainian War[]

Lvova-Belova was accused by Ukrainian and British officials of supervising the forcible deportation and adoption of children from Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[8][9] Following the invasion, she was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in June 2022, by the European Union in July 2022, by the United States in September 2022, and by Japan in January 2023.[10][11][12][13]

Lvova-Belova meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin (March 2022)

A warrant for Lvova-Belova's arrest was issued by the International Criminal Court on 17 March 2023, which claims she is responsible for the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia during the invasion; a similar warrant was issued for Putin.[2][14]

Personal life[]

Lvova-Belova has been married to Pavel Kogelman, a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church and formerly a programmer, since 2003.[15][4] They have five biological and eighteen adopted children.[16][17] The former were born in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2014 and 2018.[4] In February 2023, she adopted a 15-year-old boy from Mariupol, which The Moscow Times said would likely spark outrage due to the concurrent deportation program.[17][2]

References[]

  1. ^ "Lvova-Belova Maria Alexeyevna". United Russia party. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Putin arrest warrant issued over war crime allegations". BBC News. 17 March 2023. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Уполномоченный по правам ребенка в РФ Мария Львова-Белова. Досье" [Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova. Dossier]. Argumenty i Fakty (in Russian). 27 October 2021. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Lvova-Belova Maria Alexeyevna". PenzaNews. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Kotov, Kazakov and Lvova-Belova elected as co-chairmen of the Penza headquarters of the ONF". PenzaNews. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Сенатором от Пензенской области назначили директора социальной НКО Марию Львову-Белову" [Director of a social NGO Maria Lvova-Belova was appointed Senator from the Penza region]. TASS (in Russian). 21 September 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Путин назначил Марию Львову-Белову уполномоченным по правам ребенка" [Putin appointed Maria Lvova-Belova Commissioner for Children's Rights]. TASS (in Russian). Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Invaders deport children from Mariupol and Volnovakha to Rostov Oblast, Russia: they want to turn them into Russian citizens". Ukrayinska Pravda. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  9. ^ Quinn, Allison (16 June 2022). "Putin's Advocate for Child Welfare Is Straight-Up Stealing Kids in Ukraine, U.K. Says". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  10. ^ "COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2022/1270 of 21 July 2022". Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Japan imposes personal sanctions on 36 Russian individuals". TASS. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Treasury Targets Additional Facilitators of Russia's Aggression in Ukraine". U.S. Department of Treasury. 15 September 2022. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  13. ^ "UK sanctions Russian linked to forced transfers and adoptions". Gov.uk. 16 June 2022. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants against Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova". International Criminal Court. Press Release. 17 March 2023. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  15. ^ ""Я уже привык к светской работе и хорошей зарплате, и тут все изменилось» — как успешный программист и отец девяти детей стал священником – Православный журнал «Фома"" ["I'm already used to secular work and a good salary, and then everything changed" - how a successful programmer and father of nine children became a priest - Orthodox magazine "Foma"] (in Russian). 9 April 2021. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Семнадцать детей будущего министра" [Seventeen children of the future minister]. TASS (in Russian). 6 September 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Putin's Children's Envoy Reveals She Adopted Child From Mariupol". The Moscow Times. 16 February 2023. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.

External links[]