Mum jailed after going on four-day binge and leaving baby to starve

Olga Bazarova son, Savely, died from 'starvation and dehydration' while she partied. Photo / 123rf

A mother has been jailed for 14 years after leaving her two small children home alone for four days while she went drinking with friends.

In 2019, Olga Bazarova, 25, from Zlatoust in Russia, had left her son, 11 months, and daughter, 3, locked in a flat with no food.

Her son, Savely, had died "from starvation and dehydration" when she returned.

The girl, not named, was "severely emaciated and frightened".

A court found Bazarova guilty of murder of a minor committed with extreme cruelty, and failure to fulfil her mother's duties leaving her daughter in extreme danger.

Bazarova "repented" in court over neglecting her children while she was on a drinking binge, and said she "regretted" leaving her children, denying any intent to kill.

There are conflicting reports as to whether Bazarova discovered the children when she came home and then contacted her mother (the children's grandmother), or whether the grandmother discovered the children when she couldn't make contact with her daughter.

The 3-year-old was taken to hospital suffering malnutrition but the 11-month-old was found dead.

Bazarova took her eldest son, 7, to a friend before going on her four-day drinking binge.

She told police she had asked an uncle to look after her younger children.

However, no charges were made against the uncle.

Vladimir Kislitsyn, chief prosecutor, said: "Her little son, 11 months old, died from starvation and dehydration."

Bazarova was deprived of her parental rights.

Her son and daughter, now recovered from the 2019 incident, are in the care of their grandmother.

Bazarova's husband, Leonid Bazarov, was in jail when the tragedy happened.