Russian Woman, Daughters Found Living in Cave in India

While patrolling the forested hills near Gokarna in southern India, police stumbled upon a makeshift cave dwelling—with a Russian woman and her two young daughters living inside. As the New York Times recounts, while surveying the area last Thursday to see whether any tourists may have "gotten stuck in the landslide-prone forests," police noticed a Hindu deity's statue among the foliage, then saw a cave entrance covered by curtains fashioned out of red saris; images of Hindu deities were found on the interior walls. Nina Kutina, 40, had reportedly been in the cave with her daughters, ages 4 and 6, for the past week, though police determined she "had stayed in the cave at least four times."

Kutina's story spans nearly a decade of wandering, per the Times. She first entered India on a business visa in 2016, stayed beyond her permitted time, then traveled to Nepal, and re-entered India in 2020 on a tourist visa—this time with two sons and a daughter in tow. Her elder son died in a bike accident last year; her younger son's whereabouts remain unclear. Kutina's elder daughter was born in Ukraine, and her younger in India.

Though Kutina protested the idea of leaving the cave—she said she was "interested in staying in the forest and worshiping God"—the trio was ultimately moved to a local women's shelter. She soon emailed relatives: "Our peaceful life in the cave has ended—our cave home destroyed." The AP reports Kutina on Tuesday told the Press Trust of India she painted, sang, read, and lived peacefully with her children while in the cave. Authorities pieced together her journey using interviews and documents left in the cave and ultimately transferred her and her daughters to immigration officials in Bengaluru ahead of their eventual deportation to Russia.