Survey of orphans in Russia in 2023
There were 358,000 orphans in Russia in 2023, says a study
07.10.2024
Article published on the ASI website
The To be Precise project has produced a rating that shows how difficult life is for orphans in the regions.
To be Precise is a platform that holds publicly available information and research on social problems that are common in the regions. The forum’s aim is to draw people’s attention to social issues in Russia in order to encourage constructive debate based on its accumulated data.
Regional ratings were ranked according to five key criteria:
- Children in need of placement in families;
- Placement of children in families (i.e. the number of children placed in families in the same year in which they were left without parental care);
- The overturning of placement decisions (i.e. the return of children previously placed with families to care authorities);
- The return of children to their blood relatives and family;
- A willingness to accept children into families.
According to research carried out by the platform, there were 358,000 registered orphans in Russia last year.
The situation is worst in Zabaykalsky krai, Magadan oblast and the Komi Republic. The data show that there is limited geographical accessibility which means that preventive measures do not always work. The study also highlighted high levels of alcohol consumption in these areas which is one of the most common causes of child abandonment in Russia.
Magadan region has the highest number of children in need of a family placement, i.e. 745 per 100,000 children. However, the willingness to accept an orphan into a family here is the lowest, with only nine out of 100 families prepared to do so.
Magadan oblast also ranks fifth in the number of orphans registered during the year – 308.6. The norm, according to To be Precise, is per 100,000. Among other poor performers are:
- Tyva – 309;
- Transbaikal Krai – 372.8;
- Jewish Autonomous Oblast – 435.8;
- Chukotka Autonomous Okrug – 512.8
The situation is best in seven regions:
- Kalmykia;
- Dagestan;
- Krasnodar Krai;
- Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug;
- Ingushetia;
- Chechnya;
- Moscow region
The republics of North Caucasus and Kalmykia have a strong commitment to traditional family values based on their deep religious convictions. Ingushetia and Chechnya have the highest rate of family placements for orphans – 100% each (meaning that all registered orphans were placed with families in the same year). Krasnodar Krai was in third place, with a 95% placement rate, with Kalmykia ranked fifth with 92%.
The lowest number of orphans were in economically strong and large regions:
- Moscow – 44 per 100,000;
- Tatarstan – 93 per 100,000;
- Moscow oblast – 93 per 100,000;
- St Petersburg – 95 per 100,000
