By Murad Rakhimov | 2026-05-15

Russia counted 57,400 homeless and neglected children last year -- the first increase in five years. The Interior Ministry reported a 2.1% rise over the previous year, but offered no explanation. Experts do: the numbers track closely with the costs of war in Ukraine.

Child neglect in Russia is not a bureaucratic anomaly. It is a social pressure gauge, and right now it is rising. Analysts point to a cascade: front-line losses strip families of breadwinners, mothers struggle to raise children alone, poverty deepens, and welfare spending is quietly squeezed to fund the war.

The numbers behind the trend

The figures come from Russia's Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System (EMISS), as reported by the business daily Kommersant. Under Russian law, children are considered "neglected" when temporarily left without adult supervision. Those without a permanent place to live are classified as "homeless."

The Interior Ministry confirmed that most of the minors were found in locations threatening their health or moral development, or were unsupervised at night.

The Siberian Federal District recorded the largest share -- around 10,000 children -- followed by the Central Federal District with 8,500 and the Northwestern Federal District with 6,700. Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Leningrad Region and Tuva had the highest concentrations. The sharpest jumps were in Chelyabinsk Region (from 566 to 2,900 children), Tuva (from 1,690 to 3,250) and Novosibirsk Region (from 895 to 1,200).

Nailya Novozhilova, director of the Arithmetic of Kindness charitable foundation, noted that most cases involve neglect rather than outright vagrancy. She cited weak coordination between social services and guardianship agencies, along with inadequate support for families dealing with alcohol or drug dependency.

War's toll on families

Alisher Ilkhamov, director of the London-based Central Asia Due Diligence, linked the rise directly to the war. Escalating Russian army casualties, driven in part by Ukraine's growing drone campaign, have left more mothers raising children alone, he told Kontur.

"That in turn has placed a bigger burden on mothers, who when they're on their own have a hard time raising the children, especially if they're already teenagers," he said.

He also pointed to cuts in public funding for social services and education as compounding factors, warning that orphanhood could become a large-scale problem.

Galym Ageleuov, an expert from Kazakhstan, said social tension in Russia is now being driven primarily by the war.

"If at least 1 million people have been killed in the war, and 2 million are wounded and have received disability status, that's a blow to the economy, which has already been taking money from the Russian people for a long time," he told Kontur.

He said that compensation payments for fallen soldiers are finite and burn through quickly, leaving families economically exposed. He described the current moment as a turning point: in the war's fifth year, unemployment and inflation are accelerating while wages and social payments are declining.

A systemic warning sign

Ulugbek Ashur, an expert and blogger, said the rise in homeless children should not be treated in isolation.

"This is a systemic phenomenon that is directly tied to several factors. Child homelessness is historically and sociologically a direct consequence of wars," he told Kontur.

He described a chain of events now playing out in Russia: combat losses generate demographic pressure, working-age men die, families fracture, and children are left without parental support. Military spending draws resources away from social welfare, widening vulnerability.

Russia's own official data shows 9.8 million people -- 6.7% of the population -- were living below the poverty line last year. By the first quarter of this year, that figure had risen to 8.1%. The official poverty line now stands at 17,146 rubles per month (approximately $230), reflecting rising inflation and cost of living. Even households above that threshold may be precarious.

"This isn't a particular problem of the Interior Ministry, but rather an indicator of deeper processes that are playing out today in Russian society," Ashur said.