Russian woman rescued with children from forest cave in Karnataka says she lived peacefully

Bengaluru | Nina Kutina, the 40-year-old Russian woman who was rescued from a remote cave near Gokarna in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district, on Tuesday said she spent her days painting, singing, reading books, and living peacefully with her two young children.

Kutina (40) and her two young children, Preya (6) and Ama (4) were found on July 11 living in a secluded cave in the Ramatirtha hills of Kumta taluk, where they had stayed in complete isolation for nearly two weeks.

She had travelled from Russia to India on a business visa and reached the sacred coastal town of Gokarna via Goa.

The family eventually moved deep into the forest, where they made a natural cave their home amidst dense woods and steep terrain.

In an interview with PTI, Kutina revealed that she is a mother of four and has been travelling for the past 15 years.

“Over the past 15 years, I’ve been to around 20 countries. My children were all born in different places. I delivered all of them myself, without hospitals or doctors, because I know how to do it. No one helped me, I did it alone,” she said.

Describing her life in the cave, she said, “We woke up with the sun, swam in rivers, and lived in nature. I cooked on a fire or gas cylinder depending on the season, and got groceries from a nearby village. We painted, sang songs, read books, and lived peacefully.”

Responding to concerns about her current condition, Kutina said, “We are now kept in an uncomfortable place. It’s dirty, there’s no privacy, and we get only plain rice to eat. Many of our belongings were taken, including the ashes of my son who passed away nine months ago.”

She also alleged that news reports have misrepresented their life. “Everything shown on TV about us is false. I have videos and photos that show how clean and happy our life was before,” she said.

Kutina said she is a trained teacher in art and Russian literature, and that she personally educates her children.

“They are very smart, healthy, and talented. Everyone who meets them says so,” she said, adding that her children have not attended school but will be formally homeschooled with official documents in the future.

Kutina said she earns by making art and music videos, and occasionally teaches or babysits.

“I earn money through all these activities. And if I don’t have any work, if I can’t find anyone who needs what I can offer, then my brother, my father, or even my son helps me. So we always have enough money for what we need."

Asked why she didn’t return to Russia, Kutina replied, “There have been many complicated reasons. First, there were multiple personal losses - not just the death of my son, but also a few other close people. We were constantly dealing with grief, paperwork, and other problems.”

She said she has traveled to four other countries and then came back to India “because we love India deeply - its environment, its people, everything”.

Kutina confirmed that she is now in contact with the Russian Embassy, which is helping her family.