Chronological Summary

2023

• December 5, 2023 – The mother of Leon Levenstein, Anna Yurievna Lyudinovskova, passed away due to heart disease and central breast cancer.

• December 6, 2023 – Order No. 1187-OP establishes preliminary guardianship over minor Leon Levenstein for Malevanny Andrei Yurievich, without informing the child's father, Nicholas Levenstein.

• December 21, 2023 – Nicholas Levenstein learns of Anna Lyudinovskaya's death through mutual acquaintances.

2024

• January 12, 2024 – During the process of obtaining visas to visit the Russian Federation, Nicholas Levenstein was able to issue a power of attorney to representatives who, on his behalf, applied to the Territorial Department for Guardianship and Custody No. 5 through the State Budgetary Institution "My Family Center 'Transformation'" (hereinafter - TD No. 5, Family Center) with a written statement dated January 12, 2024, requesting the transfer of minor Leon Levenstein to his father's care and assistance in transferring Leon's identity documents and personal belongings from the guardian.

• February 9, 2024 – In response to this request, on February 9, 2024, the guardianship and custody authority requested identity documents from Nicholas Levenstein, as well as documents confirming his permanent residence in a foreign state, to be forwarded to the competent authorities of the foreign state requesting information on his living conditions there and confirming no obstacles to transferring Leon to him.

• February 27, 2024 – While preparing and collecting the requested documents, Nicholas Levenstein's representatives filed a written application to TD No. 5 on February 27, 2024, requesting assistance in communicating with the child and in transferring a recorded video greeting from Nicholas to Leon for his 4th birthday.

• March 6, 2024 – Subsequently, having obtained a visa and arrived in the territory of the Russian Federation, Nicholas Levenstein personally visited the Family Center on March 6, 2024, where he submitted an application requesting the opportunity to visit Leon at the Family Center in the presence of a guardianship authority, urging expedited consideration of his request. He also submitted a complaint about delays by TD No. 5 official Tatiana Vladimirovna Manulycheva in the process of transferring Leon to his father and refusal to specify meeting dates between Nicholas and Leon. The documents indicated that Nicholas Levenstein learned about Anna Lyudinovskaya's death on December 21, 2023, from mutual acquaintances, as Anna's family did not disclose this information to him, preventing him from attending the funeral. As a result, it took 1.5 months to locate the child and arrange a visa to Russia, and the New Year holidays delayed his return to Russia until now, where he is preparing documents for Leon's transfer and complaining about aggressive behavior and anti-Semitic attitudes towards Nicholas and Leon Levenstein by Malevanny Andrei Yurievich, the guardian.

• March 14, 2024 – Nicholas Levenstein again visited the Family Center and submitted another application to TD No. 5, expressing concerns about the life and health of his son Leon by the guardian, attaching screenshots of correspondence with Malevanny Andrei Yurievich on 3 sheets, and requesting an immediate safety check of Leon's physical and psychological well-being, as well as demanding that the child be informed that his father is alive, in Moscow, and eager to see him, for which he provided a video message and requested assistance in organizing such a meeting.

• March 15, 2024 – Nicholas Levenstein again approached the Family Center, where he submitted two applications to TD No. 5. In his appeals, Nicholas requested a meeting with Leon Levenstein in the near future, stating that the guardian Malevanny Andrei Yurievich deliberately obstructs meetings between the biological father and his child, refuses to inform Leon about Nicholas Levenstein's desire to meet his child and his whereabouts in the city of Moscow. He also emphasized the lack of response from the guardianship authority to applications submitted by him on February 27, 2024, March 6, 2024, and March 14, 2024, which requested meetings with Leon. Nicholas further described the facts of his involvement in Leon's life since his birth and again requested the transfer of Leon to his care and assistance in the return of Leon's personal belongings currently with the guardian.

  To these applications, Nicholas Levenstein attached 15 documents previously requested by the guardianship authority for the purpose of deciding on transferring custody to the biological father.

• March 25, 2024 – Guardianship authority sends a request to Maltese authorities for information on Nicholas Levenstein’s living conditions. The acting deputy head of the Department for Guardianship and Custody, Svetlana Sergeyevna Istomina, sent a reply stating that because Leon Levenstein holds residency in Malta until February 17, 2025, a request was sent to the competent authorities of the Republic of Malta on March 25, 2024, and the issue of transferring custody to the biological father would only be considered after receiving a response and the necessary documents. The guardianship authority also noted that Nicholas Levenstein presented an Irish passport and a certificate of no criminal record issued by the Republic of Malta based on his American passport, and requested certificates of no criminal record from Ireland and the USA. Furthermore, the guardianship authority noted that the lease agreement for the Moscow residence, which was concluded until June 9, 2024, mentioned a resident who is an Italian citizen and not a close relative of Leon, whose opinion on living together with Nicholas and Leon was not included. This, the authority stated, did not fully correspond to the child's interests. Additionally, the guardianship authority highlighted the lack of a work certificate from Nicholas’ employer containing details of his position, average salary, and health status documentation from a medical institution, as well as the absence of an apostille on documents provided by the biological father regarding funds in his bank accounts, and requested their submission. The guardianship authority concluded by emphasizing that Leon was under the care of his maternal uncle, Malevanny Andrei Yurievich, who was fulfilling the responsibilities of a legal representative, and that Nicholas Levenstein needed to approach the guardian directly to establish contact with the child. If there were disagreements, Nicholas was advised to go to court in accordance with Article 68 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

• March 26, 2024 – Reply from Svetlana Sergeyevna Istomina states custody transfer will be reviewed after receiving documents from Malta.

• April 22, 2024 –Nicholas Levenstein, through new representatives, lawyers Meyer R.S. and Astafyev R.A., submitted an application to the guardianship authority requesting to halt the unlawful stay of the child in an unknown location under Malevanny’s guardianship and to assist in the actual transfer of Leon to his father. However, in this case, the guardianship authority responded with a formal reply stating that no information had yet been received from the competent authorities of the Republic of Malta.

• May 8, 2024 – Nicholas Levenstein files a lawsuit in Tverskoy District Court for the return of Leon to his father based on the Hague Convention. Case No. 02–3254/2024.

• May 22, 2024 – Guardianship authority responds to Nicholas Levenstein.

• June 6, 2024 – Order No. 01/5-14-303/24 extends preliminary guardianship over Leon.

• July 6, 2024 – Nicholas Levenstein, upon his return to Moscow, approached the Family Center again on July 10, 2024, with an application to TD No. 5 regarding the transfer of his son, Leon Levenstein, born February 27, 2020, into his care. The application outlined the chronology of his appeals to the guardianship authority and their responses, and provided legal grounds for his request. As of now, there has been no response to this application.

• July 8, 2024 – Tverskoy District Court announces its decision denying the return of Leon to his father.

• July 10, 2024 – Nicholas Levenstein personally submits an application to the guardianship authority.

• August 5, 2024 – Order No. 01/5-20-2/24 establishes permanent guardianship under Malevanny Andrei Yurievich. During this period, while the biological father was carrying out activities to reunite with his son Leon, including sending relevant applications to the guardianship authority, and attaching the requested documents, including those characterizing Nicholas Levenstein, the deputy head of the Department for Guardianship and Custody, Svetlana Sergeyevna Istomina, issued several administrative acts:

  1.     Order No. 01/5-14-303/24 dated June 6, 2024, "On Extending the Preliminary Guardianship over Minor Leon Levenstein, born February 27, 2020,"

  2.     Order No. 01/5-20-2/24 dated August 5, 2024, "On Establishing Guardianship over Minor Leon Levenstein, born February 27, 2020."

  In the reasoning for the June 6, 2024, order, S.S. Istomina indicated that Malevanny Andrei Yurievich, the temporary guardian, had collected an incomplete set of documents for the formal guardianship process, in order to protect the rights and legal interests of minor Leon Levenstein.

  Regarding the August 5, 2024, order, she explained that Leon Levenstein, born February 27, 2020, was considered a child without parental care because his mother, Lyudinovskaya A.Y., passed away on December 5, 2023, and his father, Nicholas Levenstein, was not residing in Russia and, therefore, could not fulfill parental duties concerning the upbringing and protection of the child’s rights and interests. Malevanny Andrei Yurievich was recognized as the temporary guardian of the minor, taking into account the documents presented, including the report on Malevanny’s living conditions, which showed his willingness to become the child's guardian or adopt the child into his family.

• August 13, 2024 – Nicholas Levenstein, through his representatives, filed a complaint with TD No. 5 against the actions (or lack thereof) of the guardian, requesting that the guardianship of Malevanny Andrei Yurievich be terminated and that the child be transferred to the biological father, Nicholas Levenstein.

• August 16, 2024 – Nicholas Levenstein files a lawsuit against the Department of Labor and Social Protection and Malevanny to annul the guardianship orders. Case No. 02-0698/2025 (02-5543/2024). Hearing scheduled for February 24, 2025.

• August 21, 2024 – Nicholas Levenstein files a complaint with the General Prosecutor’s Office regarding illegal actions of the guardianship authority and later with the Investigative Department of the Basmanny District.

• August 29, 2024 – The guardianship authority responded on August 29, 2024, with a formal reply, referring only to a decision from the Tverskoy District Court in Moscow, which denied the return of the child within the framework of the "Hague Convention," while disregarding the facts provided in the complaint.

• October 30, 2024 – Moscow City Court upholds the Tverskoy District Court decision.

• December 3, 2024 – Nicholas Levenstein files a lawsuit in Golovinsky District Court regarding visitation rights. Case M-0462/2025 (M-6567/2024).

• December 25, 2024 – Nicholas Levenstein submitted an application to the guardianship authority, requesting the opportunity to meet with his son, Leon, with the participation of a guardianship representative if necessary (psychologist, mediator, social worker, or other representative) during his stay in Moscow from January 20, 2025, to January 28, 2025.

2025

• January 21, 2025 – Guardianship authority responds, stating that the guardian, Malevanny Andrei Yurievich, after reviewing the application, stated that, to avoid harm to the child, the procedure for meetings should be considered after conducting psychological and pedagogical research.

• January 24, 2025 – Nicholas Levenstein submits an application to the guardianship authority.

• January 28, 2025 – Court hearing in Moscow.

• January 30, 2025 – Meeting with representatives of President Putin's Commissioner on Children's Rights.

• February 6, 2025 – Meeting with Department of Education. The guardianship authority states that Leon would be better off with his grandmother, despite her not being his legal guardian.

• February 24, 2025 – Next court hearing scheduled in the Basmanny District Court (Case No. 02-0698/2025 (02-5543/2024)), where a decision is expected.

• March 10, 2025 – Nicholas Levenstein loses the second case based on paternity. The written decision is expected within 30-45 days, and an appeal is planned.