Tyumen woman searches for mother missing for 21 years
Natalya Shlykova from Tyumen is searching for her mother Lyubov Nikitichna Shlykova. Her mother disappeared when Natalya was five years old. After the disappearance, young Natasha was sent to orphanage No. 66 on Kholodilnaya Street. Since 2004, she has been searching for Lyubov and any leads about her vanishing. This is the story of a Tyumen family.
How Lyubov Disappeared
Lyubov moved to Tyumen from Kemerovo. There, as Natalya discovered, she left her husband and two daughters. In Tyumen, the woman settled in a dormitory on Parfenova Street and lived there with a man named Talip.
«I was born in 1986. We lived there as a trio, and I thought Talip was my father. But later it turned out that he wasn«t. According to neighbors, my mother and her partner drank alcohol,» says Natalya.
When Natasha was five years old, her mother simply left home. The girl stayed with Talip.
«One time she left home and disappeared. No one saw her or knows where she went. Talip didn«t know what to do with me and placed me in an orphanage. I never saw my mother again,» says Natalya.
Orphanage and Search for Mother
Talip gave Natasha to the orphanage and occasionally visited her. The girl stayed there from 1990 to 2004. After leaving the orphanage, the Tyumen woman began searching for her mother. At that time, she only knew Lyubov«s full name and where they lived. First, Natalya went to the neighbors, posted information on the »Wait for Me« website, and looked for her mother»s classmates.
«One neighbor said that a year after the disappearance, my mother was seen in the Geologorazvedchikov area. She was sitting and selling lime. A woman approached her and said: ‘Lyuba, is that you? Where have you been? Natasha is in the orphanage.’ And my mother replied: ‘I was told that Natasha died,’» recalls Natalya.
But after that, Lyubov did not try to find out about her daughter«s fate. Natalya continued to gather information about her mother.
«In 2020, I seriously took up the search. I wrote applications to the UMVD (Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs), ZAGS (Civil Registry Office), and the maternity hospital. Everywhere I was refused – no data. Then I contacted volunteers and again turned to ‘Wait for Me.’ So, bit by bit, I found relatives. Only in 2022 did I learn that I have an aunt and an older sister. When I found them, I can«t describe the emotions. Because all my life I had the status of ‘orphan.’ And when I found them – it was something,» says the Tyumen woman.
«I Need Communication with Relatives»
Then, Natalya«s aunt and older sister contacted her. They said they knew about her birth and even visited Lyubov in Tyumen. They wanted her to return with them to Kemerovo because she had two daughters left there.
«But she refused. My aunt was angry with my mother and stopped communicating with her,» explained Natalya.
She added that her relatives did not know about Lyubov«s disappearance and refused to participate in the search.
«I need communication with relatives, since I«ve been alone all my life. I want to connect with family. But they don»t want to,» explained Natalya.
Over the years of searching for her mother, Natalya has developed one assumption.
«I think she didn«t leave alone or someone took her away. Because, as the neighbors say, she was a very beautiful and striking woman. At that time, men were falling for her in droves,» assumes the Tyumen woman.
The Tyumen woman will continue to search for her mother. Lyubov is now 76 years old.
«I«m interested in at least seeing what she looks like. How is she now? Alive or not… This is a dear person, my mother, no matter what she is like. I have no resentment towards her,» added Natalya.
20 years ago, 17-year-old Alexey Shakhtarin disappeared in the center of Tyumen. On October 24, 2004, the young man took his 6-year-old niece to the Pioneers Palace and vanished. Since then, there has been no news of him. But his relatives believe year after year that Alexey will return home.
