Anna Smirnova's trip to Grozny to pick up her children was unsuccessful.

Moscow Region resident Anna Smirnova visited Grozny in search of her sons, who had been taken away by her ex-husband. However, on the day of her visit, the children stopped showing up at school, and their mother now knows their whereabouts.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in September it became known that bailiffs in Makhachkala had issued a search warrant for the ex-husband of Moscow Region resident Anna Smirnova and her two sons, who had been taken to Dagestan by him. However, according to Smirnova herself, her children had already been taken to Chechnya.

Anna Smirnova told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that she flew to Grozny in mid-October but was unable to see her sons and hasn't known their whereabouts for over a month.

According to the woman, she learned of her ex-husband's presence in Grozny from social media users. "Someone saw him on the street, someone saw him at the sports school, that he was taking children there. Well, basically, bit by bit [they told me], I figured out he lived in Grozny," she said.

I was hoping I could pick up the children and talk to them.

According to Smirnova, she contacted the bailiffs, expecting to go with them to the school immediately after their arrival, where she could talk to her sons and take them with her. "I was counting on being able to take the children, talk to them, be given this opportunity, talk to them, remember everything, and leave with me," she said.

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But that day, her ex-husband didn't bring the children to school. Anna Smirnova assumed the school had warned him of her arrival. Since then, according to classmates, her children have not shown up at school. "My subscribers asked the children if boys like this go to school. "My boys are quite noticeable in the Caucasus – two blond twins. The whole school knew them, even though they only went a few times in September and a few days in October. The kids say, 'Yes, there were some like that, but they don't go now,'" Anna Smirnova said.

She also reported that her ex-husband, according to the landlady, continues to rent the apartment, but "he's currently gone," and the landlady doesn't know where.

Some people told me it's better to have no mother at all than to have such a mother.

Anna Smirnova noted that the teachers at school refused to communicate with her. "Everyone there loves him very much; everyone thinks he's a wonderful father, a great father who protects his children from their terrible mother." "I still don't understand what horrible things he's telling people about me, but some have told me it's better to have no mother at all than to have such a mother... I personally wrote to the homeroom teacher, but she's ignoring me and not responding. I wrote to her: please tell me if they're attending classes now. And she just ignores me, no response. My lawyers went to the school and spoke with the principal... At that point, I thought the principal had heard us, but then he disappeared anyway, he's not responding," Anna Smirnova said.

She emphasized that since October 14, when she arrived in Grozny, she hasn't received "any news" about the children. "I appealed everywhere I could. I wrote several appeals to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Ministry responded that they didn't see any violations. The fact that I have a ton of video footage of him beating the children, of him abusing them [...] the fact that the children don't go to school for a month and a half during the school year wasn't considered a violation," the woman said.

As a reminder, Anna Smirnova's ex-husband, Dmitry Smirnov, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent in May 2025 that the children were living with him "with their full consent." Smirnov subsequently wrote on WhatsApp* that he had not consented to communication and suggested sending an official request for comment in writing. The "Caucasian Knot" editorial staff sent a request to Smirnov via WhatsApp*, but he did not respond.