Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder,Agency: Central European News
Controversial Russian MP Vitaly Milonov – best known for his numerous attacks on the LGBT community – has won over some critics by revealing that he adopted an abandoned migrant baby.
The conservative politician said that his five-year-old daughter Evdokiya was found on a street bench and that her mother was originally from Uzbekistan.
Before adopting her, he said that he first heard about the girl on the news back in 2014.
Evdokiya’s mother used to be employed as a security guard for a restaurant in the north-western Russian city of Saint Petersburg and gave birth to her daughter while at work in December 2014.
According to reports, she gave birth in the restaurant’s toilet and then spent several hours wandering around the city with the baby before leaving her on a bench.
The girl was saved by passersby and later adopted by the controversial MP.
Today, little Evdokiya loves gymnastics, but dreams of becoming a figure skater, according to local media.
The reports on Milonov’s good deed led to many online commentators softening their opinion of him.
Netizen ‘Igor Ivanov’ said: “I have a very unambiguous position towards this man, but after learning this, all I can say is he deserves a lot of respect.”
‘Aleksandr Lesik’ commented: “So much respect!”
Milonov was a local legislator before joining the lower house of the Russian parliament in 2016.
He became famous for anti-LGBT comments and once said that gay athletes should be subject to arrest at the Sochi Olympics if promoting homosexuality to minors as well as protesting the Side by Side LGBT film festival in November 2013.
Speaking about Apple CEO Tim Cook’s homosexuality, Milonov said in 2014: “What could he bring us? The Ebola virus, AIDS, gonorrhoea? They all have unseemly ties over there.”
Some of his proposals have reportedly included banning topless men from walking on the streets, making Halloween celebrations illegal, outlawing sex shops and free porn sites, and calling for a booze ban to prevent Russia from “drowning in tons of poisonous brew”.
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