From what I've gathered over the past few weeks, the Russian mother of Anton took her son without permission to Russia and didn't bother to inform the father, who was the legal custodian. The father tried to get Anton back to Finland through legal means, but Russian authorities had granted the boy Russian citizenship already; however, the courts in Russia struck down citizenship. However, it was granted yet again. Finally, Anton's father "abducted" the boy and with the help of a Finnish consulate's diplomatic worker, got him across the border - without a pass (although it should be noted that according to the Finnish Constitution, no Finnish citizen can be denied entry to Finland no matter what).YLE News wrote:Finnish-Russian Custody Battle Makes Big Headlines in Russia
published today 06:09 PM, updated today 08:12 PM
"Father Appears in Dark Glasses and Drags Anton to Finland" was the headline in Monday's Isvestija.
The Russian newspaper Izvestija published an interview with the Russian mother of a five-year-old boy by the name of Anton who was taken to Finland last week with the help of a Finnish consular official in order to reunite him with his Finnish father.
In the article the newspaper pointed out that Anton has been taken across the border illegally already twice. The international custody dispute has received much attention in the Russian media.
In the interview, Anton’s mother describes how she met the boy’s father 15 years ago in Tallinn. After a few years she moved to Finland, but when Anton was born, over five years ago, his parents had already separated. The mother said that the Finnish father promised to take care of the boy after the divorce.
A few years later, relations between the two parents deteriorated, and the mother decided to leave Finland to live with a friend near Moscow, along with her son. While in Russia, she got her son Russian citizenship.
Izvestija wrote that in April this year Anton’s father decided to do as the mother hand done, and abduct the son and take him back to Finland.
The mother said that she was walking on the street with her son when the father, wearing dark glasses, abducted Anton. Father and son spent time at the Finnish consulate in St. Petersburg, until they fled to Finland, in a car driven by a Finnish diplomat.
Mother Wants Son Back
Anton’s mother told the newspaper that she hopes to get her son back with the help of diplomats and lawyers. However, Isvestija notes that Anton is a Finnish citizen with a Finnish father. The paper notes that his visa to Russia expired while he was looking for his son, which is why he resorted to extreme measures.
Isvestija also writes that Anton’s older son did not want to go to Russia with his mother and his half-brother Anton. The 18-year-old refused to join her when she took Anton to Russia over a year ago. The son also called Anton’s Finnish father and told him about the situation. Since then, Anton’s father has helped his stepson and helped finance his studies.
The Anton case has received much media attention in Russia. International child custody cases are a hot topic in Russia at the moment, as a similar dispute took place recently between a French father and a Russian mother.
YLE
My own humble view of the matter is that the mother did this because she KNEW that Russia isn't part of international treaty concerning abducted children and so she thought that she wouldn't have to return Anton to his legal custodian. And now there has been a lot of angry talking on both sides of the issue: Finns are angry that the Russian officials didn't return Anton and apparently didn't also help the father to get him back at all, despite his legal claims; and the Russians are upset that the Finnish diplomat misused his diplomatic immunity to spirit away the pair, while knowing that Anton was, in the eyes of Russian law, now abducted from his mother.
I wonder what the boy's thoughts on all these are. Although my instincts tell me to trust the father more, this can become a very ugly (legal) fight.
