Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova (russian: Мария Алексеевна Львова-Белова, ; 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 The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...

issued an

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a j ...

for unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

Childhood and non-political career

Lvova-Belova was born on 25 October 1984. Born and raised in

Penza Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-l ...

, Lvova-Belova graduated from the A. A. Arkhangelsky College of Culture and Arts in 2002 as a conductor. 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 The Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation (russian: Общественная палата Российской Федерации), sometimes shortened to Civic Chamber (russian: Общественная палата), is a consultative civil s ...

. In 2019, she was elected co-chair of the

All-Russia People's Front The All-Russia People's Front (ONF; russian: Общероссийский народный фронт, Obshcherossiyskiy narodnyy front), is a political coalition in Russia started in 2011 by then- Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin to provide ...

regional headquarters. In 2019, Lvova-Belova joined the

United Russia United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...

party (the ID card was given to her on 23 November by Prime Minister

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

). 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 The Federation Council (russian: Сове́т Федера́ции – ''Soviet Federatsii'', common abbreviation: Совфед – ''Sovfed''), or Senate (officially, starting from July 1, 2020) ( ru , Сенат , translit = Senat), is th ...

from Penza Oblast's executive branch. 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 Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

appointed Senator Maria Lvova-Belova as the federal Commissioner for Children's Rights, one month after previous commissioner

Anna Kuznetsova Anna Yuryevna Kuznetsova (russian: Анна Юрьевна Кузнецова; born 3 January 1982) is a Russian politician serving as Member and Deputy Chair of the State Duma since 2021. Previously, she was Children's Rights Commissioner for ...

became an MP.

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...

Lvova-Belova was accused by Ukrainian and British officials of supervising the forcible deportation and adoption of children from Ukraine during the

. 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. A warrant for Lvova-Belova's arrest was issued by the

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.

Personal life

Lvova-Belova has been married to Pavel Kogelman, a priest of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

and formerly a programmer, since 2003. They have five biological and eighteen adopted children. The former were born in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2014 and 2018. In February 2023, she adopted a 15-year-old boy from

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...

, which ''

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...

'' said would likely spark outrage due to the concurrent deportation program.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lvova-Belova, Maria 1984 births Living people People from Penza Russian Orthodox Christians from Russia Members of the Federation Council of Russia (after 2000) Ombudsmen in Russia United Russia politicians People of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Fugitives wanted on war crimes charges Fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Court People indicted by the International Criminal Court People indicted for war crimes Russian individuals subject to European Union sanctions Russian individuals subject to the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List 20th-century Russian women 21st-century Russian women politicians