TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Russian woman is fighting for custody of her son after a Taiwanese family allegedly got her to sign parental rights.

Intercultural relationship

The 24-year-old victim, Anna Kuznetsova, claims that her son’s 38-year-old father, surnamed Miaw, and his family conspired to deceive them into kidnapping their son on false pretenses and with no English translation or legal assistance to sign the papers.

Kuznetsova, a native of Krasnodar, 1,200 kilometers south of Moscow, told Taiwan News that she first met Miaw on an international social networking site in April 2017, when she was 20. She said she wasn’t interested in him initially since he was 35 years old and lived far away in New York.

However, she said he aggressively pursued her, with occasional flirting turning into romantic conversations. She said he had repeatedly announced that he was in love with her and promised that he would fly to Russia to visit her, which she could hardly believe.

But after four months of communication and planning, Miaw actually landed in Moscow on August 5, 2017. Kuznetsova used the small amount of money to do the 1,200 km hike to meet him.

She said her first impression of Miaw was overwhelming, but over the six days they spent together they grew closer. During the trip, he made frequent promises to take her to the United States and repeatedly expressed his love for her.

Thinking about their week together, Kuznetsova said, “I felt like he was going to be my soul mate and I was happy. It was like a dream.” A month later, she found out that she was pregnant.

Lonely delivery trip

She said that she didn’t know how to tell him and knew that her life was going to change, but “I really thought he would be happy because he loved me so much.” However, he was immediately rejected by the news, insisting that she have an abortion.

When asked why she decided to conceive, Kuznetsova said that she really fell in love with him and really wanted his child. She believed that he just needed time to accept the new reality and that someday he would come over and start a family with her.

She said he then became cold and aloof, and that during their pregnancy they rarely communicated with each other other than exchanged brief messages. She said that she had a lot of difficulties and very little work during her pregnancy.

Miaw continued to request an abortion and sent her $ 289 to undergo the procedure. She said this was the only money he sent while she was pregnant until he sent another $ 450 just before giving birth.

After her birth, she suddenly found herself a 21-year-old single mother with little money who could only work as a part-time editor at her mother’s home.

She didn’t see Miaw again for almost two years. In April 2019, he invited her to Taiwan to celebrate her son’s first birthday and to meet his family.

Miaw (left), Kuznetsova (right). (Anna Kuznetsova photo)

The trap

She said she was excited about the trip to get away from Russia, see Miaw and meet his family. She believed it was possible that they could finally get together and become a family.

It wasn’t until April 30, 2019, when Kuznetsova arrived in Taiwan that she learned that Miaw had kept his relationship with her and the child’s existence a secret from his parents until shortly before her arrival. Her trip was planned for two weeks, but Miaw returned to the US on day 11 of her stay.

She said the first trip went well and everyone seemed to get along. She said all of his relatives bonded with the baby, and before they left Taiwan, the child’s grandparents asked when she would return.

From the day she returned to Russia, Miaw began exchanging letters with her regularly, saying that he wanted to be included on the birth certificate as a father. He then took over the organization of all legal documents.

He had arrived in her hometown in late June and went to the county office to list himself as a father. He also had notarized documents authorizing her to take her son to Taiwan for an extended stay.

Miaw’s mother (right). (Anna Kuznetsova photo)

In retrospect, Kuznetsova concluded that “obviously it was a plan to take the child away from me”. Although she had seen him deceive his own parents by not revealing that they had a grandson, she had no idea what was coming next.

When Miaw was traveling in Europe in August, she asked her to meet him in Turkey. She said that when she arrived in Istanbul around midnight, he was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, he told her that taxis were too expensive and that he would not cover the costs. Frightened and tired, she called his mother.

After some deliberation, the family decided that she and her baby would have to stay at the airport all night and then take the 6:00 am bus to a hotel. However, Miaw was furious that she had arrived early, and she and her son stayed in a different hotel than him for the first 10 days.

She said Miaw was cold and aloof and would only visit for about three hours during the day. On the 11th day he finally moved her to his hotel.

She initially described his behavior as “a little nicer,” but said he was easily agitated when the baby was crying. She claimed he once rudely tossed his son on the bed in anger. In another incident, she claims that the baby’s crying irritated Miaw so much that he put him in the hallway and closed the door.

Towards the end of the trip, Miaw decided that Kuznetsova should return to Taiwan in November. At that point, she said she was struggling to take care of her baby and that there was no more space in her mother’s house.

Miaw then sent her $ 1,500 to cover her expenses and tickets to Taiwan. When Kuznetsova mentioned that she did not want to return, she said that “the threats have started”.

He warned that if she did not fly back to Taiwan, he would not give any more money to support her child. He heeded his warning and boarded a flight to Taipei in November.

After living in Miaw’s house for a month, she says they suddenly asked her to leave. She had very little money, so Miaw gave her NT $ 14,000 to rent a small studio apartment before flying back to New York in December.

She says that shortly before she moved, Miaw’s father took her son’s Russian passport and birth certificate with him and claims these documents are required to apply for his health insurance. She now believes this was a lie since her son was not a Taiwanese citizen at the time.

In January, Miaw returned to Taiwan to process her son’s application for Taiwanese citizenship. Kuznetsova says she was taken to the Da’an District Household Registration Office, where she was allegedly asked to sign a document in Chinese that she could not read.

She says Miaw is nervous and more subdued than usual. She claims he wouldn’t explain in detail what she signed, only telling her that it was “required for citizenship”.

Two days later he took her on a trip and she said it was like the old days. At the end of her excursion, however, she said that Miaw said coldly, “I will bring the child to America without you. I will never marry you.”

He returned in June of that year and the two appeared to reconnect over the course of five months before heading back to the United States on November 2. In late November, she said the way Miaw’s family treated her had gradually changed.

Taiwan News has asked Miaw to comment on Kuznetsova’s allegations, but he has not yet responded.

Read more: Russian woman seeks son after Taiwanese family takes him on “trip”