The breakdown of the family was one of communism’s goals.

The hundreds of thousands of children living without the love, care, and support of a family attest to the Soviet Union’s achievement of this goal. 

As a hold-out of communism’s indoctrination, a widely-held belief exists that the government can better meet the needs of a child than a parent or family. 

The statistics of children living in the orphanage system, however, tell a different story:

                      10 percent will commit suicide

                      30 percent will turn to crime

                      40 percent will be homeless and unemployed.

Russian families have on average one child per family.  Additional children, many times, are either unwanted or can not be afforded in a society that is still today very poor.  Because nearly all of Russia’s orphans have at least one living parent, most are known as “social orphans.”

The quality of care in Russian orphanages varies widely.  When asked about the primary needs of the orphanage, the director of one home may say, “tooth brushes and toothpaste” or “shoes”; another may say, “a fish tank.”

It would not be uncommon for a worker to proudly show you the benefits of one of their pristine educational toys, and then place the toy back upon the shelf, or place it into a display case out of reach (ensuring that the toy would not be damaged).