Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky.

At birth his surname was Zhirinovsky. I changed it at the age of 16. It is reported that his father insisted on this, who at that time was already creating the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Zhirinovsky believed that she could complicate his son’s life, and Igor took his mother’s surname, Galina Lebedeva.

Spouse - Lyudmila Nikolaevna Lebedeva, Candidate of Biological Sciences.

Two twin sons (born in 1998) - Alexander and Sergey Lebedev.

Biography

Lebedev studied at an experimental school at Academy of Pedagogical Sciences.

Graduated in 1996 Moscow State Law Academy.

Candidate of Sociological Sciences.

2006 - Doctor of Historical Sciences. Topic - "The evolution of the ideological foundations and strategies of political parties of the Russian Federation in 1992-2003."

Lebedev has a number of awards, including: Order of Honor(2011) - for active participation in legislative activity and many years of conscientious work, Order of Friendship (2013) - for great contribution to the development of Russian parliamentarism and active legislative activity, medal of the order "For services to the Fatherland" II degree (2006) - for active participation in legislative activities and many years of conscientious work.

Policy

In 1994-1997 he became an assistant to his father, a deputy State Duma Zhirinovsky. In this position, Lebedev initially carried out minor party assignments, later the assignments became more serious: he organized important confidential meetings and negotiated on behalf of his father.

In 1997, Lebedev began working as a specialist expert in the apparatus of the LDPR faction in the State Duma. In addition, Lebedev was the head of the LDPR youth organization and Youth Initiatives Support Center, youth structure of the LDPR.

In 1998-1999, Lebedev was an adviser to the Minister of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation (in the past, also a member of the LDPR).

In the 1999 parliamentary elections, Lebedev was one of the leaders of the LDPR election headquarters and, according to some sources, was responsible for his father’s participation in the gubernatorial elections Belgorod region. In the elections, Zhirinovsky took third place, gaining 17.4% of the vote (the current head of the region became governor).

In the same year he entered the State Duma. In the Duma, he became the leader of the faction, taking the place of his father - Zhirinovsky was appointed vice-speaker, and in accordance with parliamentary regulations, combining these positions was prohibited. Vladimir Zhirinovsky then said: " When a blacksmith gives his anvil to his son or a milkmaid gives her cows to her daughter, no one perceives this negatively.".

In 2003, Lebedev became one of the top three leaders on the LDPR election list. According to the publication Gazeta.Ru, he got into the top three by accident, after a former KGB officer Pavel Chernov, who was supposed to run second in the elections, did not have time, according to Zhirinovsky, to collect documents for transfer to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

On December 7, 2003, he was elected to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the fourth convocation on the federal list of the electoral association Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, was the leader of the LDPR faction, a member Information Policy Committee, Member of the Commission on the Practice of Application of Electoral Legislation of the Russian Federation.

In 2005, Novaya Gazeta wrote that Lebedev is not only the leader of the faction, but also edits the party newspaper. In addition, the publication noted, in fact, in his hands is party cash register.

On September 17, 2007, the LDPR congress took place, at which party lists for elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the fifth convocation were approved. Lebedev took third place on the party's federal list - after Zhirinovsky and - a former FSB officer, a businessman accused by the British authorities of involvement in the murder of another ex-FSB officer, Alexandra Litvinenko, to whom Great Britain granted political asylum.

On December 2, 2007, the LDPR successfully overcame the electoral threshold, gaining 8.14% of the votes of Russian voters. Lebedev was elected to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the fifth convocation as part of the federal list of candidates nominated by the Political Party "Liberal Democratic Party of Russia", was the leader of the LDPR faction and a member Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building.

In December 2009 at XXII Congress The LDPR made amendments to the party charter, according to which the rule prescribing the combination of the posts of the head of the Supreme Council of the party and its chairman was removed from the document (at the time of the amendments, this position was still retained by Zhirinovsky). In the same month, Lebedev announced that he had headed Supreme Party Council as part of the division of the posts of head of the Council and chairman of the LDPR.

On December 4, 2011, he was elected to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the sixth convocation as part of the federal list of candidates nominated by the Political Party "Liberal Democratic Party of Russia".

On December 21, 2011, he was elected Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the sixth convocation, a member of the LDPR faction, a member of the State Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building.

In September 2012 he was nominated by the Football Federation of the Smolensk Republic as a candidate for the presidential election RFU. In the first round he received 9 votes.

In September 2015, Lebedev, together with State Duma deputies from the LDPR and Andrey Svintsov prepared a draft law “On Amendments to Article 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.” This article provides punishment for persons who unlawfully took possession of a car or other vehicle without the purpose of theft. Lawmakers proposed an amendment that would equate unlawful car evacuation to theft.

The authors of the bill hope that the innovation will force evacuation services to take a more responsible approach to their work. In the explanatory note, parliamentarians noted that the actions of tow trucks are increasingly " are commercialized“and turn from the conscientious execution of government powers into actions to generate profit.

The leader of the LDPR once said about his son that he considered him " a typical representative of the Gorbachev generation", "average abilities and a little lazy"According to a source from Profile magazine close to Zhirinovsky, the fact that Lebedev became the leader of the faction did not surprise anyone." Igor is a fairly thoughtful young man. He listens more and then makes a decision. His only drawback is his youth and lack of his father's charisma.", noted the interlocutor of Profile journalists. Lebedev himself agrees that he is unlike his father: " It's right. There can only be one Zhirinovsky. I am different".

Income

In a declaration of income and property submitted to the Central Election Commission in 1999, he indicated that he owned land plots in Penza and the Penza, Moscow, Pskov regions, six houses with a total area 1929,5 square meters and apartments with a total area 2000 square meters (in Moscow, Lipetsk, Magadan, Omsk, Orenburg, Penza, Perm, Moscow, Novgorod, Lipetsk, Orenburg, Perm, Pskov and Tambov regions), VAZ-21213, Volvo cars and Toyota jeep (at the same time his annual income was only 17683 ruble).

According to the Central Election Commission in 2000, Igor Lebedev was the wealthiest member of the Zhirinovsky family - with an income for the previous two years of 55 thousand 239 rubles Lebedev owned two plots of land and three residential buildings in the Moscow region. He personally owns several apartments in Moscow, as well as an apartment in the Murmansk region.

Lebedev commented on this situation as follows (from an interview with Novaya Gazeta): " This is all the party's, not mine. We have branches in every city, in every district, and everywhere we need to have some kind of office and transport. It’s not up to ordinary party members to blame all this. We had one case. They assigned the headquarters to one party member, but he died. And his wife said that she would not give up the premises because it was her husband’s property. And we spent a lot of effort in court, proving that this is the property of the party, and the wife has no right to claim it. Therefore, Vladimir Volfovich decided to record all property on his closest relatives, on himself, on me, on his sister. And now his sister has 300 UAZs all over the country, and I have a crazy number of apartments. Because I am the person closest to Vladimir Volfovich who will never betray him. I don’t remember exactly how many apartments and cars I have now. There are people tasked with controlling this.".

In the spring of 2010, information about Lebedev’s property and his income for the previous year was made public. Lebedev turned out to be the richest faction leader in the State Duma: his annual income amounted to more than 178 million rubles; he also owned four apartments, four cars and one motorcycle. However, according to Forbes, he earned only about 4.8 million rubles.

In 2011, according to Forbes, Igor Lebedev earned 12,095 million rubles. He declared two apartments, each with an area of ​​more than 300 square meters, and a BMW 6 Series car as his property. According to data on income and property published in October 2011 by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation before the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the sixth convocation, Lebedev was the richest member of the top ten electoral list of the LDPR. For the year, according to this information, he also earned significantly less than was indicated in the previous declaration: 4.7 million rubles, while he owned two apartments in Moscow, a BMW car and shares in VTB Bank.

Rumors (scandals)

In February 2013, information from a journalist appeared Sergei Parkhomenko from bloggers (“dissertation diggers”) that Lebedev’s dissertation “The Evolution of the Ideological Foundations and Strategy of Political Parties of the Russian Federation in 1992-2003,” defended in 2006, allegedly constitutes plagiarism of a Ph.D. thesis from 2005 Kornev Mikhail Olegovich"The dominant factors of party building in modern Russia."

In February 2014, he published information about Igor Lebedev’s undeclared two-story penthouse with an area of 442 square meters, with 7 toilets in Dubai. Lebedev himself stated: " I consider it beneath my dignity to comment on the blog of Navalny, convicted of fraud." (the latter received a suspended sentence under Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the Kirovles case).

A lot of words have been said about statesmen, politicians and other famous personalities. Often people are interested in their families, but rarely is one of the relatives of a famous person of great interest. There are quite a few exceptions to this rule, and among them is the son of the scandalous politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky - Igor Lebedev. He deserves attention, if only because since 2009 he has held the position of head of the Supreme Council. In addition, Igor Lebedev is the LDPR leader in the State Duma of the last three convocations. And another of this man’s achievements is worth noting his position as Advisor to the Minister of Labor and Social Development. In addition, Igor Lebedev is engaged in scientific activities, defended his doctorate in history and became a candidate of sociological sciences.

Biography

At the end of September, on the 27th, 1972, Igor Vladimirovich Zhirinovsky was born. At the age of 16, the guy changed his last name. His parents are Galina Lebedeva and Vladimir Zhirinovsky. According to some reports, the father himself persuaded his son to change his last name, believing that his political activities could affect his son’s personal life.

At that time, Vladimir was already busy creating a liberal party, still on the territory of the USSR. Listening to his father, the guy decided to get a passport in his mother’s name. For this reason, Igor Lebedev is known to the public precisely by this name and surname.

Beginning of political activity

The guy's first attempt to get into was in 1995. He was included in the election list of his father’s party, but he never managed to get into office. At that time, he was simultaneously studying at the Moscow Law Academy. A year before, Zhirinovsky assigned him the position of his own assistant for state affairs.

At the beginning of his work, Igor Lebedev carried out only minor missions. After Igor received a law degree, his father’s orders became more serious. Instead of business trips and small assignments, he began organizing important meetings, which were to be held completely confidentially. Sometimes the task of conducting serious negotiations instead of his boss fell on his shoulders.

Carier start

Officially, Igor Lebedev began his career as a politician in 1997. It was then that he got the position of expert specialist in the main apparatus of his father’s faction in the State Duma. In addition, at that time the young politician held the position of head of the LDPR youth organization and the same position in the Center for Supporting Youth Initiatives, in the structure of the faction.

A year later, Igor Lebedev, whose biography is quite vivid, becomes an adviser to Sergei Kalashnikov, who holds the post of Minister of Labor and Social Development. It is worth noting that Sergei used to be a member of the faction created by Zhirinovsky.

1999 election campaign

When parliamentary elections in the Russian Federation took place at the turn of the century, Zhirinovsky’s son took the place of one of the leaders of the election headquarters of his father’s faction. Some sources say that his task was to monitor the situation in the elections for governor of the Belgorod region and the positive rating of Zhirinovsky’s candidacy in them. But unfortunately, Igor’s father did not win, taking only third place in the race for the leadership position and losing to Evgeniy Savchenko, gaining only 17.4% of the votes. At the end of this year, Igor Lebedev, the son of Zhirinovsky, whose biography is inextricably linked with politics, puts forward his candidacy for and gets into it, being on the list of those elected in his father’s bloc.

After Vladimir Zhirinovsky is elected vice-speaker, his son takes his place as the leader of the faction. At that time, my father simply did not have the right to combine these two positions. According to Vladimir Zhirinovsky, he did not do anything reprehensible or unusual, because in many areas the family business passes from father to son, why should there be exceptions if he is confident in the professionalism of the heir.

Three leaders of the LDPR

State Duma deputy Igor Lebedev became one of the three leaders of the election list of his father’s faction in 2003. Although, according to some sources, its presence on this list is completely accidental. The absurdity of the situation was that the second number was to be occupied not by Igor, but by Pavel Chernov, who was a KGB officer. Zhirinovsky commented on this discrepancy as the fact that Chernov did not have time to collect and bring all the documents necessary for transmission to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

At that time, Igor Lebedev, whose photo is presented in the article, again joined the ranks of members of the State Duma and immediately took the post of faction leader. According to some sources, in addition to the leadership, Igor is also involved in the editing of party literature, and the entire party treasury is at his disposal.

Fifth convocation

Lists for elections in the fifth convocation to the State Duma were approved in September 2007 at the LDPR congress. The first on the list was, naturally, Vladimir Zhirinovsky himself, number two was a former FSB officer, and then there was Lebedev’s place. By the way, it is worth noting that businessman Lugovoi at that time was accused by the British authorities of committing the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, who also previously served in the FSB. At that time, Alexander was granted political asylum in Great Britain. Thus, after the vote, Lebedev got into the Duma this time too, once again occupying his usual post, albeit in the lower house of parliament.

XXII Congress of the LDPR faction

At the end of 2009, the next congress of the Zhirinovsky faction was held, at which amendments were made to the party charter. At that time, information regarding the possibility of combining posts had changed. Thus, the head of the Supreme Council could well be simultaneously the chairman of the party.

At that time, the position still belonged to Vladimir Zhirinovsky, but less than a month had passed before his son announced that he would combine these posts and take the corresponding positions.

Lebedev's income

At the beginning of 2010, information regarding the financial status of Igor Lebedev, the son of Zhirinovsky, whose biography testifies to the multifaceted development of this man, in the last year, became publicly available. This information shocked almost everyone, because he became the richest person holding the position of head of the State Duma faction. At that time, he was able to earn more than 178 million rubles in a year. In addition, he owned four apartments and cars, as well as one motorcycle. The following year, his earnings were strikingly different from the previous one; before the sixth congress, he was able to receive less than 5 million, but at the same time he acquired several apartments in the capital, another car and bought shares in VTB Bank. But still he remained the richest member on the party's election list.

Scientific activity

According to the State Duma website, Lebedev has a doctorate in historical sciences and is a candidate of sociological sciences. But when and how he earned this is unknown. There are no topics, dates, or any other information on this matter.

Igor Lebedev, biography: Zhirinovsky’s opinion about his son

Like any other father, Vladimir considers his son a little lazy, in his opinion, he can do more, but still remains a typical member of the Gorbachev generation. According to some reports, the positions held by Lebedev did not cause any surprise among Zhirinovsky’s entourage; everything seemed logical and expected. They say about Igor himself that he always calculates his actions, listens carefully, thinks about everything and only then makes any decisions.

According to those around him, the main shortcomings of the hereditary politician are his age and the lack of charisma of Vladimir Zhirinovsky. According to Lebedev himself, it is not surprising that he does not look like his father. After all, people like him are unique, and there can only be one Zhirinovsky himself.

Personal life

Igor Lebedev is married to Lyudmila Nikolaevna. She is three years younger than him, and he met his future wife as a child. In 1998, their family welcomed two twin sons, who were named Sergei and Alexander.

A couple of days ago, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Lebedev, after watching a video with an armless girl Vasilina, wrote the following on social networks: “Why are such children allowed to be born, because this is torture, not life?! Modern medicine determines pathology in advance. It’s disgusting when such people suffer and don’t live.” His words were quoted with indignation by dozens of media outlets, bloggers and public figures.

It’s not the lack of adequacy that frightens us, it’s the indifference

Moscow Children's Ombudsman Evgeny Bunimovich complained about Lebedev to State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, asking that Lebedev's statement be submitted for consideration by the Duma Ethics Committee. “These are statements by a person holding a high government position, statements are monstrous and outrageous, they must be given a strict public assessment,” the ombudsman said.

“These are statements by a person holding a high government position, statements are monstrous and outrageous, they must be given a strict public assessment,” the ombudsman said.

In turn, the mother of the girl Vasilina, Elmira Knutsen, was more surprised than indignant.

I don’t know how to react to such words from a politician. For a believer, every person is God's creation, created for a wonderful life. For people who believe that humans evolved from monkeys, the position of “survival of the fittest” is quite normal, she said.

The mother of two adopted children with disabilities added: much more than the words of some deputy, she is worried about the indifference of her housemates. Knutsen has been fighting unsuccessfully for a long time to create a wheelchair ramp near his entrance. But the residents of the house are categorically against it - after all, the new ramp will “eat up” an entire parking space.

This makes me very sad, I don’t know how to explain such things to children,” Elmira admitted.

While social networks and the media were seething with indignation, the LDPR decided to add even more fuel to the fire. At first, Deputy Speaker Lebedev flatly refused to apologize for his words - after all, he “conducted private correspondence, albeit on a public level.” And then the leader of the liberals himself, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, stood up for his son. “All over the world there are pathologies, ugly changes in human nature. In this way, humanity can collapse, we must save humanity! Doctors should identify developmental pathologies in the early stages of pregnancy and recommend that women refuse further pregnancy,” Zhirinovsky said.

The norm is beyond civilization

As usual, this point of view in the media and social networks found not only opponents, but also supporters. Thus, it was demonstrated at what level of civilization we all find ourselves today. After all, only socially responsible states realize: not helping people in distress who can be helped is disgusting. In Europe or the USA, a politician who even once allowed himself to make a statement like Lebedev’s would never be able to get elected anywhere again. Moreover, not a single colleague or journalist would dare approach him after this; such a politician would immediately receive the status of a leper.

In Europe or the USA, a politician who even once allowed himself to make a statement like Lebedev’s would never be able to get elected anywhere again. Moreover, not a single colleague or journalist would dare approach him after that.

But Russia has its own rules. Many media outlets are happy to interview Lebedev and Zhirinovsky and publish more and more wild quotes. And not a single condemning phrase came from the highest authorities. No one will be particularly surprised if after some time the State Duma passes the law “On the ban on disability.” After all, this is a big savings in government funds.

Even the possibility of such statements showing that there is strong public indifference in our country. If you count how many of us are indifferent today, you will get a much more terrible figure than the prices of medicines. As the “Lebedev case” showed, it is indifference that is the cause of many of our troubles.

According to the OK-inform expert, it is thanks to him that our politicians dare to promote the “ban on life” for people with disabilities.

Dmitry Solonnikov, political scientist:

Zhirinovsky and Lebedev are not the people who voice a serious agenda. Sometimes the authorities use Zhirinovsky to organize information dumps in the media. But this rarely happens, basically what the leader of the LDPR and his henchmen say is their personal initiative. Now the reason for Lebedev’s activity is simple: his father will sooner or later have to leave the post of party leader due to his age. And he is unlikely to leave his brainchild to anyone other than his son. Therefore, Lebedev, denying the right of disabled children to life, is trying to loudly declare himself.

Zhirinovsky, Lebedev's father, will sooner or later have to leave the post of party leader due to his age. And he is unlikely to leave his brainchild to anyone other than his son. Therefore, Lebedev, denying the right of disabled children to life, is trying to loudly declare himself.

A couple of years ago there were already such attempts - then Lebedev actively commented to the media on all the initiatives of the LDPR, relations with China, the development of the Far East, etc. But, since Igor Lebedev is not very versed in all these topics, his activity soon came to naught.

But time passes, Zhirinovsky is not getting any younger. Therefore, Lebedev is again trying out for the role of speaker. In order for him to be noticed, people started talking about him again, he needs the loudest, harshest statements possible, like the commentary on the video with the girl Vasilina. It is not without reason that they say that for a politician any mention in the press, except for an obituary, is a positive thing. Now they instantly started talking about him, even with indignation. This means that people remembered that in the LDPR not only Vladimir Volfovich can say some nonsense, but also his son.

Yes, questioning the right to life of disabled children is not just a risky step, it smacks of some kind of dense uncivilization. In Europe, such statements by politicians are universally ostracized. But, nevertheless, the ultra-right fringes there sometimes allow themselves to say something similar. In Russia they are treated more calmly, and Lebedev understands: here this is quite acceptable - and does not give up on himself as a politician. The Russians will soon forget what exactly he said and allow him to take the post of LDPR speaker. This is ordinary cynicism.

Igor Vladimirovich Lebedev was born on September 27, 1972 in Moscow. At birth his surname was Zhirinovsky. I changed it at the age of 16. It is reported that his father insisted on this, who at that time was already creating the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Zhirinovsky believed that she could complicate his son’s life, and Igor took his mother’s surname, Galina Lebedeva.

In 1996, Igor Lebedev graduated from the Moscow State Law Academy. A year later he became an adviser to the Minister of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation.

In the 1999 parliamentary elections, Lebedev was one of the leaders of the LDPR election headquarters. In the same year he entered the State Duma. In the Duma, he became the leader of the faction, taking the place of his father - Zhirinovsky was appointed vice-speaker, and in accordance with parliamentary regulations, combining these positions was prohibited. Vladimir Zhirinovsky then said: “When a blacksmith passes his anvil to his son or a milkmaid passes her cows to her daughter, no one perceives this negatively.”

Igor Lebedev's parents, Galina Lebedeva and Vladimir Zhirinovsky

In the spring of 2010, information about Lebedev’s property and his income for the previous year was made public. Lebedev turned out to be the richest faction leader in the State Duma: his annual income amounted to more than 178 million rubles; he also owned four apartments, four cars and one motorcycle, Lenta.ru reports. At the same time, Forbes provides other figures.

In 2011, Forbes writes, Igor Lebedev earned 12.095 million rubles (in 2010 - about 4.8 million). He declared two apartments, each with an area of ​​more than 300 square meters, and a BMW 6 Series car as his property.

Currently, Igor Lebedev holds the post of Vice Speaker of the State Duma. On July 12, 2012, it became known that the Smolensk Region Football Federation nominated him for the post of head of the Russian Football Union.

He is married to Lyudmila Nikolaevna Lebedeva (born 1975), has twin sons - Alexander and Sergei (born 1998).

Galina Lebedeva, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Alexander and Sergey Lebedev

Photo: ukranews.com, canada.kp.ru, ria.ru, alleynews.ru

According to Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Igor Lebedev, parents do not need to give birth to children with physical pathologies. Thus, he reacted to a video that appeared on the Internet, where a little armless girl deftly eats, holding a fork with her toes.

“Why are such children allowed to be born, because this is a martyr, not life?! Modern medicine determines pathology in advance,” the politician wrote in his.

He called the situation “disgusting” “when such people suffer and do not live.” Users of the social network attacked the statements of the Deputy Speaker of the State Duma with condemning comments.

After some time, Igor Lebedev published a post on his LiveJournal entitled “Born to Suffer,” in which he stated that the state should not interfere in the decision to save the life of a child with pathologies. At the same time, he proposed introducing an initiative to support the state for women who have healthy children, but who do not have the means to support them, which is why they hand over their offspring to orphanages.

“This is where the state can compensate for everything: it’s not about problems, but just about expenses. Let such a woman be paid for agreeing to bear and give birth to a child. If she doesn’t want it, then let him give it to the state. The system of shelters, the system of state education of such children - all this must develop and improve,” the politician wrote.

“A person can grow up in a poor family - and be happy, full-fledged. A person can grow up without parents, in an orphanage - and be fully realized. But suffering that cannot be avoided and which a person does not deserve is disgusting and unacceptable,” the parliamentarian is sure.

In turn, the mother of the armless girl Vasilina invited Igor Lebedev to meet her daughter.

“You will see what a joy she is and what a gift she is for our family! Every person has some limitations, some are physical, some are mental...”, the Mash Telegram channel quotes the girl’s mother as saying.

Let us note that Igor Lebedev represents the LDPR party in the State Duma. He is the son of the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

The mother of a girl born without arms told what she thinks about the deputy’s words

Resident of Moscow Elmira Knutsen, the adoptive mother of the girl Vasilina, who was born without arms, commented on the words of the Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Igor Lebedev, who stated that her adopted daughter should not have been born, as she was doomed to constant suffering due to her characteristics. The woman explains the deputy’s actions by his adherence to the theory of natural selection.

“I don’t know how to react to things like this politician’s words. For a believer, every person is God's creation, created for a wonderful life.

And if someone is sure that people descended from monkeys, then the position that the fittest survives is normal. Probably, many people think so,” she told Lenta.ru.

“I’ve been trying for a long time to make a normal entrance with a ramp near the entrance,” said the adoptive mother. - But the neighbors are against it, since the ramp will eat up one parking space. For them, parking is more important than the convenience of a family with two disabled people. This bothers me, not the words of some deputy. This makes me sad, and I just don’t know how to explain such things to children.”

The family of Elvira and Chris Knutsen has two healthy natural children and two adopted disabled children. Even before the wedding, together with her future husband, the woman was a volunteer in orphanages. 7 years ago, the couple decided to take into their family a seven-year-old boy with underdeveloped limbs, and later a girl with similar problems.

“Now our Denis is already fourteen,” says Elvira Knutsen. - He has underdevelopment of his limbs - arms and legs. An undeveloped jaw and a short tongue are the consequences of a genetic disease. He spoke poorly. Every year he had prosthetics fitted to his legs.

Now he moves very well. At first, his friends at school didn’t even know that he had dentures. No prosthetics were done on the arms. He copes with what he has: one arm up to the elbow, and the other up to the hand. In everyday life, he is completely independent. Dresses, undresses, can prepare dinner. Speaks English and Russian fluently.”

“We saw Vasilina’s photo on Facebook,” said the adoptive mother. “They didn’t decide to take her away right away.” The youngest son was only three years old. But the girl’s fate was constantly monitored. We wanted a loving family to be found. Time passed and no one showed up. My husband and I were also planning to adopt someone. Since we had a lot of experience with Denis, we thought it would be right to take a child with similar problems.

Nobody took Vasilina, and we did it. She just turned one year old. Now Vasilina can do a lot. She wants to do everything herself: take off her socks, put on her shoes, eat.”

Earlier, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, son of Vladimir Zhirinovsky and deputy from his party, Igor Lebedev, left comments that caused public outrage on a video posted online showing Vasilina.

“Why are such children allowed to be born, because this is torture, not life?! Modern medicine determines pathology in advance,” Lebedev wrote, then adding that, from his point of view, “it is disgusting when such people suffer and do not live.”

The politician refused to apologize for his words, insisting that they were justified. “This was a private correspondence, albeit on a public level,” he told the radio station “Moscow Speaks.” Lebedev later clarified his position by publishing detailed explanations on his blog. In particular, he said that he recognizes the need for the state to care for people with disabilities, including those with congenital pathologies, but at the same time he called not to force, but with the help of propaganda to induce mothers to have an abortion at the risk of giving birth to a terminally ill child.

As the portal Miloserdie.ru was told at the Moscow City Association of Parents of Disabled Children and Persons with Disabilities since Childhood (MGARDI), they are currently preparing an open appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to take the necessary measures in connection with Lebedev’s prank. The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Moscow Region, Ksenia Mishonova, also announced her intention to appeal to the State Duma Committee on Ethics in connection with the incident.