Orphan's Double Marriage During SVO Sparks Family Court Dispute

“Everything Happened Very Quickly”

Alexander Rodkin grew up in an orphanage. According to his sister, their mother was deprived of parental rights, and all the children were placed in different institutions. Alexander himself, along with his brother Sergei, ended up in a correctional school in Kazanka, and another sister was in another orphanage. Only later, when the children grew up, did their grandmother begin to reunite them—it was she who helped maintain contact and gather the whole family.

“We grew up without parents, but we always tried to stay together. Sasha was like that—he always needed care, attention, a family,” says Valentina.

Alexander, she says, never managed to create his own stable family. He was never officially married until the events related to the special military operation (SVO), although he lived with various women.

His sister is sure that the decision to go to the combat zone was not a conscious choice or an ideological step. Alexander led a difficult life: he abused alcohol, got into conflicts, and lost his driver«s license.

According to Valentina, the immediate reason for signing the contract was a domestic quarrel. In one company, Alexander pushed a woman, after which a report was filed against him. The situation could have been resolved by paying moral compensation, but, as the family claims, the man was “pressured” so that the contract seemed, in his opinion, the only way out.

“He went to the police, came back to me and said he had decided to sign a contract. Everything happened very quickly,” recalls his sister.

Married Twice in a Year

Before being sent to the SVO, Alexander had lived with women more than once, but, according to relatives, he had never formalized a relationship officially before. Valentina says she repeatedly asked her brother not to rush into marriage, but he was always looking for care and warmth—perhaps due to his orphanage past.

Alexander entered his first official marriage already during his service—with a woman he met on social media. However, this union quickly fell apart, and the divorce went through without problems.

The second marriage, which became the cause of the current conflict, was concluded in literally two days. Alla, whom Alexander married, was, according to his sister, previously acquainted with their family through their older sister. They corresponded for a long time, and when Alexander came on leave, he went to her for two days—and it was during this period that the marriage was registered.

“They started communicating via correspondence, just two months total. When he came on leave, he went to her for two days and that«s it—they got married. And I even told her in court that if you knew him before, then you didn»t need him then, but as soon as you found out he was in the SVO—you immediately fell in love with our brother,” says Valentina.

Moreover, Alexander, his sister claims, did not trust his new wife: shortly after registering the marriage, he came to Valentina and issued a new general power of attorney in her name. And after that—he went back to the SVO.

Already there, according to the soldier«s sister, the man began to have a falling out with his new wife. Coming to his senses, he allegedly asked his sister to file for divorce on his behalf. However, the divorce proceedings did not take place.

On May 10, Alexander Rodkin went missing. Valentina was informed about what happened by his comrades. Ten days later, the sister turned to the military commissariat, but there, she says, they refused to talk to her, citing the fact that Alexander had an official wife.

“They told me straight out: he has a wife, we are not obliged to tell you anything,” says Valentina.

The wife herself, according to relatives, took no part in the search for her husband. Then Valentina went to court for her brother, filing for divorce from Alla. Later, the court received official notification that Alexander was listed as missing in action. Because of this, the case was suspended. Alexander«s body has still not been found. Comrades, according to his sister, speak very cautiously: it is only known that the man went on a combat mission that was called “impossible.”

Conflict Over Payments That Aren«t There

After Alexander«s disappearance, an open conflict began between his relatives and his official wife. The family insists: the marriage was sham, concluded spontaneously.

“By law, she is the wife. All payments—go to her. We have no rights at all,” says Valentina.

Moreover, according to his sister, Alexander«s wife actively insisted on a DNA test, raising the issue of payments, but allegedly did not participate in the search. The soldier»s relatives refuse to provide DNA at his wife«s request.

“We are searching without DNA, they are not going to do anything for her,” says Valentina. “I asked at least to give me the right to bury my brother if he is found. They won«t even give me that.”

Now the family hopes for publicity and legal assistance. They admit: formally, the law is on the wife«s side, but they consider the situation unfair.

“He was our brother. We grew up with him in the orphanage, we were his family all his life. And now it turns out that we are nobody,” says his sister.

“We Married for Love”: The Wife«s Version

Alexander Rodkin«s wife, Alla, insists: their marriage was not sham and was not concluded for the sake of payments. Alla assures that she met her husband about ten years ago and they had kept in touch since then. Communication, she says, resumed in the fall, when the man was already in the combat zone. Alexander himself wrote to her on social media. The couple had always had feelings for each other. They corresponded regularly, called each other, she worried about him and prayed.

According to Alla, Alexander proposed to her himself. She admits that she had doubts at first—the SVO and the risk of losing her husband frightened her.

Nevertheless, the woman asserts, the decision to marry was conscious and mutual. According to Alla, by the time of his last leave, Alexander had difficult relations with his relatives. The woman claims that he himself did not want to communicate with them and asked them not to interfere in his personal life. At the same time, she insists: it was she who persuaded him to visit his sisters, despite the tension.

When Alexander came to her in Golyshmanovo, the woman introduced him to her children and relatives. The serviceman himself came to his beloved with flowers and gifts, was happy, and spoke about the future. It was then, she claims, that he finally decided to register the marriage.

The registration, according to Alla, took place without pressure or rush, and she explains the short time between Alexander«s arrival and the wedding by his limited leave.

“He was happy those days. And when he told his sister: ‘I will live with the woman I love. I will get married, that«s it,’ she started stamping her feet, yelling that I won»t let you get married. Is he a child? Why are you deciding?” she exclaims indignantly.

Alla says she learned about her husband«s disappearance unofficially—from comrades. The woman claims she still does not believe in Alexander»s death and hopes he might be alive. Alla says she independently appealed to various authorities, sought information through acquaintances, and tried to find out if Alexander had been admitted to any morgues or hospitals.

“I am still searching everywhere. In morgues, through acquaintances. I was told he is not there. I am glad he is not. Maybe he is alive. I pray to find him alive,” says Alla.

She rejects the relatives« accusations that she is interested solely in payments and emphasizes: her husband»s fate is more important to her.

“I don«t need money. I don»t need these millions. I can earn it myself,” says Alla. “They are portraying me as some kind of gold-digger. I want to find him alive. And she won«t calm down because of this money. Do you think she needs her brother now? She isn»t even looking for him. She doesn«t provide DNA, even though I»ve asked so many times. She needs the money.”

What Else Have We Written About Similar Stories?

Previously, we told you about another conflict. A dispute unfolded between the mother of a Tyumen man killed in the SVO and his young widow. According to the mother, the girl received payments and is now pursuing awards—the “For Courage” medal and the Order of Courage. The 20-year-old widow is also entitled to payments for them.

Now the mother of the deceased serviceman is trying to prove that her son«s marriage to a girl from Tyumen was sham. According to Irina, 19-year-old Vladimir got married while in a colony, two weeks before being sent under contract to the SVO zone. Before that, he had no relationship. However, Alena told a completely different version. Details are in the previous article.