‘Pray and Endure’: Russian Priest Sent Wife to Psychiatric Hospital — Court Awards Her Compensation
- Администратор
- Jul 30, 2025
- 2 min read
A mother of four from Vladimir Region, Russia, has won a landmark lawsuit against the Ministry of Finance and a psychiatric hospital after being forcibly committed — three times —by her then-husband, a local priest. The court ordered the state to pay her 300,000 rubles (about $3,300) for the illegal hospitalization arranged by her ex-spouse.
According to Elena Manko, her husband Sergei — an Orthodox priest at the time — used his connections to have her admitted to a psychiatric facility in the village of Sodyshka without her consent in 2021 and 2022.
Elena says that after years of domestic abuse, drinking, and her husband’s affair with a parishioner, he tried to get rid of her and keep control of their property and his church reputation.
She told local media that when she sought help from the diocese, she was told, “Your body belongs to your husband, so you should endure,” and not to report the abuse.
The first forced hospitalization lasted 40 days, during which, Elena claims, she was heavily medicated “to suppress her will.”
On two other occasions, she was rescued with help from friends, lawyers, police, and local journalists.
A regional court ultimately ruled her 2022 hospitalization unlawful and found that her husband had violated her personal rights.
While Elena sought 5 million rubles in damages, the court awarded her a total of 300,000 rubles—split between the Ministry of Finance and the psychiatric hospital. Her ex-husband, now defrocked, was sentenced to 280 hours of community service and ordered to pay an additional 50,000 rubles in damages to Elena.
Sergei has since moved to another region and is reportedly out of touch with the family. Elena is now seeking nearly 80,000 rubles in unpaid child support for their four children.
This case has become a powerful example of how Russian women can face abuse, institutional betrayal, and legal hurdles — but also how, with persistence and support, justice can prevail.
