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Due to profound socioeconomic and political changes in post-Soviet Russia, the number of families viewed as neblagopoluchnye and 'unfit' for bringing up their children is increasing, and so is the number of children without parental care. To protect children from the harmful influence of their 'unfit' parents and to ensure a better future for them, state agents remove children from their families placing them in residential care institutions. Yet the nature of parenting in state care, the absence of inter-generational support and the lack of networks for family support and assistance render some of these young people ill equipped to deal successfully with the difficulties and uncertainties of post-Soviet social realities. Usually the state agents hold care-leavers responsible for their maladjustment and place the former residents' children in residential care institutions. This leads to the creation of whole 'dynasties' of institutionalised individuals. This article outlines some concepts and practices of child removal, demonstrating that both are still underpinned by Soviet values. Institutional experiences as narrated by former residents illustrate the genesis of difficulties in post-institutional adjustment.

In our plural society, interfaith marriages and multicultural families have become a new normal and are either considered problematic for the religious communities or welcomed as a contribution to a secular and more peaceful world. In the course of my work with European Muslims, I could accompany such families through a few generations. In this article, I am going to outline some typical challenges and crises in such relationships and their effects on young people growing up in mixed families, adding my observations of how they can be dealt with. Ultimately, there is a chance that, through dialogue, it provides a meaningful learning environment that prepares young people for the diverse reality of the world today.

This article is a very personal statement concerning parts of my own biography and my family life. But more than that, it is an encouragement to dare to find peaceful and creative ways of living together in an intercultural and interreligious context, within the privacy of a partnership and family as well as within a society and within this world. The private space always has a very broad and political aspect as well. That is what motivates me to share these very personal experiences.