Heads of Charity Organization Held in Pre-Trial Detention and Accused of Treason for Helping Children of War

Varvara and Andrei Latyshevich with one of their foster children. Photo: VKontakte

Varvara and Andrei Latyshevich began their charitable journey in their youth, almost immediately after their wedding. In her youth, Varvara worked in Saint Petersburg, where she managed a local charitable foundation and organized summer activities in children's sanatoriums and camps.

Their lives were forever changed by one work visit to the management of another institution, when a little girl, weeping bitterly, rushed to Andrei. "Daddy, you've come! Take me with you!" she pleaded, mistaking him for her father. The caregiver quickly and apologetically took the child away, but this accidental scene pierced the couple's hearts with such pain and compassion that it forever determined their future path – to rescue and welcome abandoned children into their family.

In 1997, the spouses returned to Minsk and officially registered the charitable association "With Love — to Children". The Latyshevichs brought them winter shoes, dishes, and stationery. But they quickly realized that the main need of orphans was attention, so they created a separate social adaptation program for orphanage graduates.

A separate direction of their many years of work became helping children with hearing problems, who were often left alone with their isolation in society. The Latyshevichs not only gathered deaf orphans in their home during holidays but also taught them foreign sign languages with the help of volunteers from the Netherlands. They sought to show these teenagers that the world is much wider than the walls of an orphanage.

Павялічыць

Varvara Latyshevich at a sign language interpreting conference. Photo: geth.by

The Latyshevichs are parishioners of the United Church of Christians of the Full Gospel (UCCFG) in Belarus.

Andrei and Varvara have three children of their own: the eldest daughter studied at the BSU Faculty of Law, the son at the Academy of Music, and the youngest, a 16-year-old, is still a schoolgirl. Despite their large own family, the Latyshevichs formalized the status of a foster family. Dozens of teenagers passed through their patronage, many of whom, even after reaching adulthood, continued to call their house their own.

Varvara graduated from the Belarusian State Pedagogical University in 2008. The topic of her diploma was "Emotional development of graduates of orphanages and boarding schools".

The scale of their activities was truly impressive: for one New Year's celebration, the Latyshevichs gathered 102 people at their home — their former and current foster children, who came with their own spouses and children. The family owns a house near Minsk, in Zhdanovichi, where Andrei worked as a beekeeper, and Varvara managed social projects. In recent years, they have been involved in transportation and owned companies in this field.

Павялічыць

Andrei Latyshevich. Photo: VKontakte

According to available information, after Russia's attack on Ukraine, the Latyshevichs began helping children affected by the war. They traveled to the occupied territories of Ukraine several times.

Their organization "With Love — to Children" was liquidated in February 2025.

In March 2026, Andrei Latyshevich was unexpectedly detained in Moscow. Russian security forces immediately extradited him to Belarus, where he was taken into custody. His wife, Varvara, also fell under the blow of the repressive machine.

According to human rights defenders of "Viasna", the criminal prosecution of the couple is related to their assistance to children affected by military actions in Ukraine. The Latyshevichs were accused of treason and organizing illegal migration.

The human rights community has already recognized Andrei and Varvara Latyshevich as political prisoners.

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