‘Instinct took over,’ mother says in story of Orenburg family with same-letter names

The Smirnov-Polyantsev family has six children: two boys and four girls. In November 2025, mother Marina was awarded the «Motherhood» medal. According to her, sports help her cope with everything. Marina has been doing fitness since she was 15, and for the last 10 years, she has also been coaching.

The family lives in a four-room apartment in a standard nine-story building in Orenburg. The eldest, Maxim, is 22 years old and is graduating from the A.V. Khrulev Military Academy of Logistics in St. Petersburg. He enrolled there after attending the Orenburg Presidential Cadet School. The second son, Matvey, is 14 years old and has followed in his brother«s footsteps, also studying at a cadet school. After the boys, four girls were born: Matrena (12 years old), Marfa (11 years old), Maryana (6.5 years old), and Mikhailina (2.5 years old).

Sports play a big role in the life of the Orenburg woman. When her first child was born, Marina realized that she was good at fitness. At first, she did it herself, later she started teaching, even during pregnancies. The woman admits that she recovered easily after all births and does not rule out a natural factor here.