Nadezhda Bushuyeva - Russian Woman Kept Inside for 26 Years

Nadezhda Bushuyeva - Russian Woman Kept Inside for 26 Years | Locked Away By Her Mother For 26 Years 

Nadezhda Bushuyeva was convinced by her mother that the outside world is in fact a very dangerous place. It is unclear if something had happened to her mother at some point in her life and that’s why she kept her daughter inside all those years or not. It could also just be the remote area of Russia that they live in and possibly it wasn’t safe there.

A Russian woman who was trapped in a house by her mother for 26 years has revealed that she ate cat food and stale bread in order to stay alive.The 42-year-old woman had been shut away by her mother - who claimed to be 'protecting' her - for more than half of her life, before she turned up at a local council office in Russia asking for a job and an identity document.

Nadezhda Bushuyeva had not seen the outside world since she left school 26 years earlier, except for one trip to a clinic in 2006. She was fed on cat food and kept inside until her mother, a retired shop assistant called Tatiana, became ill and required hospital treatment.

Social services did try to help the mother and daughter move out of their hoarder-looking home but they refused help and never let anyone inside. Fear of being caught and of the living conditions they were apparently fine with, kept them from getting actual help.

Larisa Mikhayeva of the social care department of the Vachovsky district in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia, had this to say about their efforts:

That is absolutely horrifying. And yet all Nadezhda wanted was a job so she could keep eating and be able to visit her mom in the hospital. She doesn’t even want to go outside and be apart of society. She truly believes that the world is scary and staying inside is the best thing for her. It’s so heartbreaking.

Nadezhda’s story was only discovered because she went looking for a job because she needed to be able to get food and live on her own, with her mother in the hospital and benefits no longer coming in. 26 years is a long time to be inside and only live off of whatever benefits can buy.

Given the current challenges we’re all facing with COVID-19 and shelter-in-place orders to an extent still in place, this kind of makes this not look so tough. Maybe those who are refusing to wear masks in public and are fighting so hard to dismiss this should read Nadezhda’s story and think ‘wow maybe my life isn’t so bad after all right now.’ I highly doubt it, people are pretty stubborn when it comes to this.

I never thought wearing a mask to protect yourself and others would become such a deep divide in the U.S., making it become a red vs. blue thing. Listening to doctors and health experts is a red vs. blue thing. Wear a damn mask! Stop being so selfish and stubborn and just wear a mask. As always, keep staying safe everyone.