What happened to Lily's dad?
Many remember the story of Dmitry Timashkov. Together with his daughter Lily, who has cerebral palsy and whose rehabilitation he took upon himself, he participated in races. And in 2018, his son, who attacked his father with a knife, was unexpectedly arrested.
Dmitry Timashkov with his daughter Lily. Photo from Timashkov's Facebook
Fifteen to twenty years ago, Dmitry Timashkov looked like a person one would describe as a successful Minsk resident. A family, children, his own business, an apartment, a car, a clear life trajectory. He later wrote with irony that by thirty, he already had two children, a second apartment, and "a house by the sea, even if it was the Minsk Sea."
But everything changed. First — due to his daughter's severe illness. Then — due to the family's breakup. Then — due to the story with his son: fourteen-year-old Semyon attacked his father with a knife and inflicted six blows. How did the family's story unfold afterward?
Dmitry Timashkov with his daughter during the Minsk Half Marathon in 2015. Photo: Tut.by
Who is Dmitry Timashkov?
Dmitry Timashkov was born and raised in Minsk; he has an older brother and sister. In his youth, he was involved in sports — he went rowing at school. After the army, he worked in various fields, and by the mid-2000s, he already had his own small business — a store that "fed the family."
Timashkov was married several times. From his first marriage, he has an adult son (now about 40 years old) and a daughter Liza (about 28 years old). Liza Timashkova maintains contact with her father and his other children.
His second wife was Olga, about 10 years younger than him. In 2004, their son Semyon was born, and two years later — their daughter Lilia, who was diagnosed with a severe form of cerebral palsy. Timashkov later said that he noticed problems very early — in the first months of the child's life.
After this, the family's life shifted into a completely different mode. Following his daughter's diagnosis, Timashkov dedicated himself to finding rehabilitation methods. He studied the methods of the Glenn Doman Institutes (USA) and twice traveled with his daughter for wellness programs, collecting donations. Later, he developed his own home program, which includes physical activity, hardening, sensory stimulation exercises, and other elements.
Photo: Tut.by
In this new reality, the business began to decline. Timashkov himself described it this way: while he was living for his daughter and her rehabilitation, the business withered, partners began working in a gray area, and then the store "burned to the ground one wonderful April morning." Creditors quickly took what was left.
At the same time, the family was falling apart. Olga had long been a housewife, and later started working as a saleswoman. According to Timashkov, the constant care for their severely ill daughter, isolation, and endless tension led the woman to depression and alcohol problems.
They divorced in 2016-2017. After the divorce, the children stayed with their father; the mother occasionally helped, but the main burden of care fell on Dmitry.
In an interview, Timashkov said that the loss of his business, lack of money, and his daughter's severe illness drove him to despair, but he "took paper and pen instead of a rope" and started writing a blog to draw attention to the problem.
A son who grew up in the shadows
His son Semyon, according to his father's descriptions, grew up in an intellectual environment. Dmitry said that the boy attended a specialized kindergarten, then one of Minsk's best gymnasiums, and read serious literature (Kurt Vonnegut, Saul Bellow) already at 14 years old. Difficulties began after Lilia's birth: in a home where all life revolved around the girl's rehabilitation, the son gradually found himself in the background.
Timashkov himself later openly admitted: he paid little attention to Semyon, used physical punishment, and burdened him with household chores. The son, in turn, perceived his father as a harsh and distant person. This alienation gradually grew within the family until it exploded in September 2018. Then, fourteen-year-old Semyon attacked his father with a knife and inflicted six blows.
The story immediately became public and caused a stir. In January 2019, the court sentenced Semyon to six years in an educational colony.
A book about six blows and "Satan's embrace"
While the investigation was ongoing, Timashkov wrote a book with one of the most unusual titles in Belarusian non-fiction: "Six Knife Stabs in the Back, or The Story of Whether It's Possible to Free a Child from Satan's Embrace and Survive Yourself."
Photo: lilkindad.livejournal.com
Timashkov tried to interpret his son's attack not only as a story of family collapse but also as some kind of "dark third party" that supposedly intervened in the teenager's life. The book features occult motifs, discussions of Satanism, "horrific rituals," and mystical plots. At the same time, the author himself emphasized that the book is a blend of fiction and documentary, containing invented elements, and the characters only resemble real people.
Some saw in this book attempts by a person not to go insane after a personal catastrophe. Others saw a reluctance to admit that the cause of the tragedy might have been the family environment, not "Satan."
Parental days in the correctional facility
In his blog, Timashkov described trips to Bobruisk to visit his son in the colony and his attempt to understand who his son had become behind bars.
Timashkov engaged in a long struggle to mitigate the punishment, review the case, and secure a pardon. He called it "another bitter experience."
His texts about the colony contain a lot of everyday observations. It's a very specific world with gates, metallic clanging, passes, bags of food, and parents waiting in line.
Timashkov emphasizes that for a father, the main question in the colony is very simple: is your child being fed properly there? During a visit to the new canteen, he lists with almost painful meticulousness the soup, mashed potatoes, roulade, vinaigrette, compote.
During one such parental day, he writes that he and Semyon walked to the canteen, "holding hands," and it was "for the first time, probably, in two years."
In 2020, the Supreme Court reduced the boy's sentence to four years. And on January 6, 2021, Semyon was released on pardon. Timashkov wrote that on that day, he received a call from the colony, and they simply said: "Your son has been pardoned. Come pick him up."
Dmitry Timashkov (right) picks up his son Semyon from the colony in Bobruisk. Photo: lilkindad.livejournal.com
Timashkov said that Semyon changed in the colony. He began to read a lot, draw, study, write. His letters to his father, according to Timashkov, reached twelve pages and were no longer childish notes, but almost literary texts.
What about Semyon now?
From available sources, it is clear that Semyon (now 21 years old) joined the running community "Wings of Angels" and participated in races.
The young man is studying in the European Union. It is known that he maintains good relations with his father and participates in his activities.
"Wings of Angels"
Even before the knife incident, Timashkov began to build an entire world around his daughter and her rehabilitation. He ran a lot and gradually came to the idea that sports could be a form of inclusion in the lives of children with disabilities.
In 2015, Timashkov ran the Minsk Half Marathon, pushing a stroller with Lilia. Later, the initiative grew into an entire community: thus, "Wings of Angels" appeared. The idea was simple: there are "angels" — children with severe diagnoses, and there are "wings" — people who run with them, transport them in strollers, making them participants in events, not just observers.
Brest Half Marathon-2018. Photo: wingsangels.livejournal.com
Over six years, the "Wings of Angels" initiative grew from a small group of parents into a full-fledged public organization: the team participated in marathons, organized "runParks" (inclusive family runs), and gathered numerous volunteers. Timashkov became the face of this organization.
Running instead of quarantine
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dmitry Timashkov took a skeptical stance. In his blog, he criticized the general panic, fear, and behavior of people. He ironically called the situation "coronapanic" and claimed that the hype around the virus was exaggerated by "people who were going to live forever."
But he did not deny precautionary measures. He formulated his life plan during the pandemic in ten points, including, for example, minimizing contacts, creating a stock of food and medicines so as not to go to the store unnecessarily, and moving elderly parents to the dacha away from crowds of people.
Timashkov urged not to give up running. He claimed that many years of experience with social isolation (due to caring for a daughter with a severe form of cerebral palsy) helped him cope with the coronavirus, and he criticized those who demanded quarantine, masks, and tests.
In 2020, he and his team held a series of charity runs called "PandaMia." Each event was timed to a specific date (Cosmonautics Day, Children's Day, etc.). Timashkov's organization also organized other runs: an inclusive paired run, "social Tuesdays" at the 9th beach, offering inclusive training sessions and picnics.
Liquidation and relaunch
In 2021, the authorities liquidated the organization "Wings of Angels." This occurred amid a mass crackdown on Belarusian non-governmental organizations and initiatives — from human rights to social ones.
Timashkov said he learned about the liquidation almost by accident: he found an entry in the Ministry of Justice register stating that the organization was subject to liquidation. He emphasized that the team had not previously received any complaints from the authorities. He later learned that the Minsk City Executive Committee decided to liquidate the organization based on a list compiled by the police. The reason for the liquidation was not disclosed to him.
For the project, this meant losing legal status, the ability to hold official events, and receive funding. But for Timashkov himself, this was not the end. He relaunched activities in another form — through the private enterprise "Habilitation and Leisure." It continued projects on inclusion and active recreation: sports, tourism, summer camps, equipment rental, rehabilitation.
Life on the shore
In 2022, Timashkov, along with Lilia, moved to the shore of the Minsk Sea. At first, it looked like an experiment: to live in a tent, to understand if it was even possible. And later — as a whole philosophy.
Photo: Dmitry Timashkov's Facebook
They spent months in the tent camp — from spring until the frosts, for several years. In winter, they moved to an apartment or dacha, and in spring, they returned.
In Dmitry's posts, this is described as "Robinsonade" and "Diogenes' life."
Timashkov emphasized that for life in nature, it is important to use resources wisely. In one post, he wrote that he considers the norm of water consumption of 100 liters per day a luxury; he and Lilia need 20 liters of water. Plus 4 liters of diesel fuel and 4 liters of gasoline per day for heating and lighting, as well as 4 bundles of firewood for a bonfire. A 5-liter gas cylinder lasts a week. Everything needed must be delivered by bicycle from the nearest gas station.
In his posts, he noted that life on the shore with Lilia became a real "school of life" — they learned to put up with mosquitoes, winds, rains, beavers, and seagulls and feel freedom, despite the lack of usual comfort.
Photo: Dmitry Timashkov's Facebook
Gradually, an infrastructure grew around this life. A campsite appeared on the same beach, where one can rent tents, stand-up paddleboards, bicycles, trekking chairs, special wheelchairs for people with disabilities, children's quad bikes, buggies. Summer camps, quad safaris, inclusive hikes, and picnics began to be held here.
The gazebo rental website states that on the 9th beach of the Minsk Sea, one can rent "Wigwam Gazebo" — an Indian tipi tent covering 25 m², with a fireplace and electricity, next to which is a floating sauna on a pontoon — "Fisherman's House," which can also be rented. All of this belongs to Timashkov's legal entity.
Indian tipi tent
Floating sauna. Timashkov also dipped into the ice hole with Lilia. Photo: Dmitry Timashkov's Facebook
Dmitry also wrote about other earnings. For example, that he works part-time as a woodcutter.
For the last two years, Dmitry Timashkov has been less active on social media and his blog. He hardly talks about how he lives today, what is happening to him and Lilia, or if the "Robinsonade" on the shore continues.
Timashkov's last activity online was searching for a caregiver for a disabled woman in Loshytsa. He posted such an advertisement in capital city job search chats.