TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Russian woman is fighting for the custody of her son after a Taiwanese family allegedly conned her into signing away her parental rights.
Crosscultural relationship
The 24-year-old victim, Anna Kuznetsova, alleges that the 38-year-old father of her son, surnamed Miaw, and his family conspired to deceive her into signing the papers under false pretenses and without an English translation or legal counsel before kidnapping her son.
Kuznetsova, a native of Krasnodar, which is 1,200 kilometers south of Moscow, told Taiwan News that she first met Miaw on an international social networking site in April of 2017 when she was 20 years old. She said that initially, she was not interested in him, as he was 35 years old and living far away in New York City.
However, she said that he pursued her aggressively, with casual flirting transforming into romantic conversations. She said he had repeatedly proclaimed that he was in love with her and promised that he would fly to Russia to visit her, which she found hard to believe.
Yet after four months of communication and planning, Miaw indeed landed in Moscow on Aug. 5, 2017. Kuznetsova used what little money she had to make the 1,200-km trek to meet him.
She said her first impression of Miaw was underwhelming but that over the course of the six days they spent together, they grew closer. During the trip, he frequently promised to take her to the U.S. and repeatedly expressed his love for her.
Reflecting on their week together, Kuznetsova said: "I felt like he was becoming my soulmate and I was happy. It was like a dream." One month later, she realized she was pregnant.
Lonely delivery journey
She said that she did not know how to tell him and knew her life would change, but "I truly thought he will be happy because he loved me so much." However, he was immediately repulsed by the news and insisted that she get an abortion.
When asked why she decided to go through with the pregnancy, Kuznetsova said that she had genuinely fallen in love with him and really wanted his child. She believed that he just needed time to accept the new reality and that he would eventually come around and start a family with her.
She said that he then became cold and aloof and that they rarely communicated throughout her pregnancy other than exchanging terse messages. She said that she suffered many hardships while going through her pregnancy with very little in the way of work.
Miaw continued to demand that she have an abortion and sent her US$289 to undergo the procedure. She said this was the only money he sent during her pregnancy until he sent another US$450 just before delivery.
After she gave birth, she suddenly found herself a 21-year-old single mother with little money who was only able to work as a part-time copyeditor from her mother’s home.
She did not see Miaw again for nearly two years. In April of 2019, he invited her to Taiwan to celebrate their son’s first birthday and to meet his family.
Miaw (left), Kuznetsova (right). (Anna Kuznetsova photo)
The trap
She said she was happy for the trip, to get away from Russia, to see Miaw, and to meet his family. She believed it was possible that they could finally come together and become a family.
It was not until April 30, 2019, when Kuznetsova arrived in Taiwan, that she learned Miaw had kept his relationship with her and the child's existence a secret from his parents until just before her arrival. Her trip was slated for two weeks, but Miaw returned to the U.S. on the 11th day of her stay.
She said the first trip went well and that everyone seemed to get along. She said all his relatives bonded with the baby and that before leaving Taiwan, the infant's grandparents asked when she would return.
From the day she returned to Russia, Miaw began a regular correspondence with her and said that he wanted to be added to the birth certificate as the father. He then took charge of organizing all of the legal documents.
By the end of June, he had arrived in her hometown and went to the district office to list himself as the father. He also had documents notarized authorizing her to bring their son to Taiwan for a longer stay.
Miaw's mother (right). (Anna Kuznetsova photo)
In hindsight, Kuznetsova concluded it was "obviously a plan to take the child away from me." Although she had seen how he had deceived his own parents by not disclosing that they had a grandson, she did not foresee what was to come next.
While traveling in Europe in August, Miaw asked her to meet him in Turkey. She said that when she arrived in Istanbul at around midnight, he was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he messaged her that taxis were too expensive and that he would not cover the cost. Scared and tired, she called his mother.
After some deliberation, the family decided that she and their baby would have to stay in the airport through the night and then take the 6 a.m. bus to a hotel. However, Miaw was angry that she had arrived early, and for the first 10 days, she and her son stayed in a different hotel than him.
She said Miaw was cold and distant and would visit during the day for only about three hours. On the 11th day, he finally moved her into his hotel.
She described his demeanor as "a bit nicer" at first but said he was easily agitated when the baby cried. She alleged that he once threw his son roughly onto the bed in a rage. In another incident, she claims Miaw became so irritated by the baby's crying that he put him in the hallway and shut the door.
Toward the end of the trip, Miaw decided that Kuznetsova should return to Taiwan in November. By this point, she said she was struggling to take care of their baby and that there was no longer room in her mother’s home.
Miaw then sent her US$1,500 to cover her expenses as well as tickets to Taiwan. When Kuznetsova mentioned that she was reluctant to return, she says the "threats started."
He warned that if she did not fly back to Taiwan, he would no longer provide money to support their child. She heeded his warning and boarded a flight to Taipei in November.
After living in Miaw's home 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 he flew back to New York in December.
She says that just before she moved, Miaw's father took her son's Russian passport and birth certificate, claiming that these documents were needed to apply for his health insurance. She now believes this was a lie, as her son did not have Taiwanese citizenship at the time.
In January, Miaw returned to Taiwan to process their son’s application for Taiwanese citizenship. Kuznetsova says that she was taken went to the Da’an District Household Registration Office, where she alleges she was asked to sign a document in Chinese that she could not read.
She says Miaw appeared nervous and more subdued than usual. She claims he would not explain in detail what she was signing and had told her only that it was "required for citizenship."
Two days later, he took her on an excursion, and she said it seemed like old times. However, at the end of their outing, she says that Miaw coldly stated: "I will take the child to America without you. I will never marry you."
He returned in June of this year, and the two seemed to reconnect over the course of five months before he left again for the U.S. on Nov. 2. By late November, she said the way Miaw's family treated her had begun to change.
Taiwan News has reached out to Miaw for comment on Kuznetsova's allegations, but he has not yet responded.
Read more: Russian woman looking for son after Taiwanese family takes him on 'trip'
