Russian children’s rights ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova has married U.S.-sanctioned media tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev, Russian media reported Monday.
According to the Telegram news channel Baza, which is linked to Russia’s security services, the wedding took place on Sunday at a restaurant in Deauville, an upscale village in the Moscow region.
The independent news outlet Vyorstka confirmed the wedding with three anonymous sources close to the couple, according to The Moscow Times.
“The couple welcomed the news of their marriage being public since they didn’t want it to be a secret,” one source told Vyorstka. Another source mentioned that a “small circle” of guests was asked not to post photos of the newlyweds online.
Baza and Vyorstka shared images and videos purportedly showing the wedding venue and guests.
Vyorstka previously reported that Lvova-Belova had left her former husband, a Russian Orthodox priest with whom she had raised 10 biological and adopted children, for Malofeyev. Rumors of their relationship first emerged when the pair were spotted together at a religious event in Yekaterinburg this summer.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Lvova-Belova and President Vladimir Putin, accusing them of war crimes related to the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Russia, which is not a member of the ICC, dismissed the warrants as “void.”
The U.S. Treasury initially sanctioned Malofeyev in 2014 for financing pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. In 2022, Washington expanded sanctions on Malofeyev’s “malign influence network,” which includes over 40 individuals and entities, such as the pro-Kremlin Orthodox TV channel Tsargrad.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the wedding, stating that it was not his place to discuss Lvova-Belova’s private life.
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