# The Marriage Laws of Soviet Russia/Title 3

TITLE III
FAMILY RIGHTS
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Chapter I
Descent
133. Actual descent shall be the basis of the family. No distinction shall be made between the relationship established through marriage and that established by union outside of marriage.
Note I. Children descending from parents who are not married have equal rights with those descending from parents living in registered marriage.
Note II. The provision of the present section extends also to children born outside of marriage before the publication of the decree relating to civil marriage (December 20, 1917).
134. The persons registered as parents in the register of births are considered respectively as father and mother of the child.
135. In the absence of an entry of the parents of a child or in case of an entry which is incorrect or incomplete, the interested parties have the right to establish their paternity and maternity respectively by court procedure.
Note. Cases relative to descent are under the jurisdiction of the local court.
137. Should it be established by examination in court that the entry is false and based upon false testimony of persons pretending to be parents, the parties guilty of false testimony are liable to prosecution for a criminal offense and the entry is declared to be void.
138. The court, not later than three days after its decree takes effect, shall give notice of the judgment declaring an entry void and establishing the actual descent of a child to the Bureau of Vital Statistics where the birth is registered, and the entry is to be corrected accordingly.
139. Evidence of paternity, in case of the father disowning the child, is to be established according to the form prescribed in Sections 140–144.
140. An unmarried woman who becomes pregnant shall give notice not later than three months before the birth of the child to the local Bureau of Vital Statistics of her place of residence, stating the time of conception, the name and residence of the father.
Note. A similar notice may be given. by a married woman in case the conceived child does not descend from her registered husband.
141. On the receipt of such a notice, the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall inform the person indicated ​as the father in the declaration (Section 140), and such person has the right within two weeks from the day of receipt of this information to appeal to the court to set aside the statement of the mother on ground of incorrectness. If the appeal is not made within the term specified, the respective person shall be consider&d as the father of the child.
142. Suits relating to the establishment of paternity are tried in the ordinary course, but the parties are bound to give true testimony, otherwise they will be held responsible for perjury.
143. Should it be established that the person designated in Section 141 has had such intercourse with the child's mother as to become, according to the natural course of events, the father of the child, the court shall deem him to be the father and at the same time compel him to share in the expenses connected with the gestation, delivery, and maintenance of the child.
144. If the court establishes that the person mentioned in article 141 had intercourse with the child's mother at the time of conception and that at the same time the mother had intercourse with other persons, the court shall summon all the latter as defendants and impose upon them the obligation to share in the expenses as provided in Section 143.
Chapter II
Personal Rights and Duties of Children and Parents
145. Children born of a registered marriage shall bear the matrimonial surname of their ​parents. Children horn of parents not registered in marriage shall bear the surname of the father or of the mother or both surnames joined. The surnames of such children shall be determined by agreement between the parents, or, failing this, by decision of the court.
146. In case a marriage is dissolved by divorce or declared void, the parents shall determine by a mutual agreement which of the three names mentioned in Section 100 the children shall bear. In default of agreement between the parents, the surname of the child shall be determined by the judge on his own authority, and in case of dispute between the parents, by the local court.
147. If the parents are citizens of different countries, the citizenship of the children (provided one of the parents is of Russian citizenship) shall be determined by a pre-existing agreement made betweeen the parents and declared by them at the time of the recording of their marriage in the Bureau of Vital Statistics.
Note. In default of an agreement on this matter between the parents, the children shall be considered to be Russian citizens, provided that upon their attainment of full age they shall have the right to assume the citizenship of the foreign parent.
148. The parents shall be entitled to decide by agreement the religious beliefs to be professed by their children under 14 years of age. In default of such an agreement between the parents, children under the age of 14 years shall be deemed to profess no religious belief at all.
Note. The agreement between parents mentioned in this section, pertaining to the religious professions of their children, shall be made in writing.
149. The exercise of the right of parental authority over a male child shall terminate on the attainment by the child of 18 years of age and over a female child on the attainment of 16 years of age.
150. Parental authority shall be exercised by the parents jointly.
151. All measures concerning the children shall be taken by the parents, when there is agreement between them in these matters.
152. In case of a disagreement between the parents, the matter in dispute shall be decided by the local courts in the presence of the parents.
153. Parental authority shall be exercised exclusively for the benefit of the children, and in case of misuse the court may deprive the parents of the parental rights.
Note. Suits pertaining to the deprivation of parental authority shall be within the jurisdiction of the local court and may be brought by representatives of the government or by private citizens.
154. Parents are responsible for the care of their minor children, their education and their instruction in useful activity.
155. Parents are responsible for the protection of the personal interests and economic rights of their children. The parents shall be deemed both ​legal and general representatives of the children without a special appointment as guardians or trustees.
156. Parents are obliged to keep their children with them and have the right to claim their restitution from anyone who detains them without legal authority or without an order of the court.
157. Parents have the right to decide the manner of upbringing and instruction of their children, but the parents shall not contract for the employment of any of their children between the ages of 16 and 18 without the child's consent.
158. In case the parents live apart, they shall decide by agreement with which of them their minor children shall live. In default of such agreement the matter shall be determined by the local court.
159. In cases when the court has deprived the parents of their parental rights, the court shall permit the parents to visit their children provided that such visits shall not have a harmful and prejudicial effect upon the children.
Chapter III
Property Rights and Obligations of Children and Parents
160. Children have no right to the property of their parents, nor parents to the property of their children.
161. Parents shall be bound to provide board ​and maintenance for their minor children and for children who are indigent and unable to work.
Note. The duties of the parents mentioned in the present section shall be deemed suspended in-so-far as such children are cared for and sustained by public or governmental institutions.
162. The duty of maintaining children shall be shared equally by both parents. The proportion of the maintenance contributed by each parent shall be determined in accordance with their respective means. The sum contributed by each parent shall be not less than one-half of the minimum living allowance fixed for a child in the given locality. A parent unable to contribute the whole of his or her share shall provide a part of the same.
163. Children shall be bound to provide maintenance for their parents who may be indigent and unable to work, provided the parents are not receiving the same from the government in pursuance of the law relating to measures for social security or the law of insurance against sickness and old age.
164. In case the parents refuse to provide maintenance for their children, or the children are unwilling to maintain their parents in accordance with the provisions of the foregoing sections 162 to 164, the persons entitled to maintenance have the right to claim the same pursuant to the rules prescribed in foregoing Sections 108 to 118.
165. The rights of children to receive maintenance from their parents and the rights of parents ​to receive the same from their children in the cases mentioned in sections 161–168 remain even when the marriage of the parents is dissolved either by the death of one of them or by divorce or is declared void.
166. On the dissolution of their marriage by divorce the parents shall determine by mutual agreement their respective responsibility for and the amount each of them shall contribute towards the maintenance and upbringing of their children. The court shall make the decision in this matter a part of the decree of divorce. In case such agreement between the parents is not to the benefit of the children, the children shall have the right to claim from either of the parents the maintenance they are entitled to by law.
167. In default of an agreement between the parents pertaining to the maintenance of their childrn, the matter shall be decided by the local court. Nevertheless it shall be the duty of the judge decreeing the divorce to decide provisionally, until the final settlement of the matter by the local court, which of the parents and in what proportion shall bear the expenses of the maintenance.
168. The local court deciding the question of the maintenance of the children shall take into consideration the means and the ability to work of both parents. Furthermore, it shall consider, in case of a mother otherwise capable of work, her inability to work because of the necessity of caring for her children or because of pregnancy.
169. The deprivation of their parental rights does not absolve the parents from the duty of ​contributing towards the maintenance of their children.
170. On the death of both or either of the parents or on the death of the children, the respective maintenance for the parents or the children who are indigent and unable to work shall be contributed out of the estate of the deceased in pursuance of the rules prescribed by Sections 122 to 128.
Note. The present section shall extend to the cases of persons declared to be dead or absent without trace.
171. In the case provided for in Section 129, the parents and the children shall administer and dispose of the property left by the deceased equally with the other parties entitled to a share in the said estate.
Chapter IV
Rights and Duties of Relatives
172. Persons in direct ascending or descending lines of affinity, consanguineous or half consanguineous brothers and sisters who may be indigent and unable to work have the right to obtain maintenance from their well-to-do relatives.
Note. No distinction shall be made between the relationships established by legal marriage and those by unregistered union.
173. Relatives in the direct ascending and descending lines and brothers and sisters in their ​relative order are bound to provide maintenance only in such cases when the indigent persons are not able to obtain the same from spouse, children, or parents on account of absence or indigence.
174. In case such persons refuse to maintain their relatives who are indigent and unable to work, the said relatives have the right to claim the maintenance due to them in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Sections 108 to 118.
175. Persons bound to provide maintenance jointly shall bear the responsibility for it in equal proportions, unless the court, on taking due notice of the variance in the means of the said persons or the absence of one of them or on some other worthy consideration, shall decide that they shall participate in the provision of the maintenance in proportion other than that prescribed herein.
176. In case it shall not be possible to obtain the maintenance from the persons bound to provide the same, the court shall have the right to impose this duty upon the relative next bound in the order of affinity to provide the said maintenance. This next relative shall have the right to recover this charge from the party originally bound to provide the maintenance.
177. The court may secure the provision of a maintenance by a charge upon the property of the person bound to provide the same; likewise the court may secure guarantee for such provision pending the final judgment in the suit for maintenance.
178. Any agreement tending to abrogate the right to maintenance shall be deemed void.
​179. On the death of a relative or upon declaration by the court that a relative shall be deemed absent or dead, the persons described in Section 173 shall obtain their maintenance out of the property left by the deceased in pursuance of the rules prescribed in Sections 122 to 128.
180. In case the property mentioned in the previous section shall not be sufficient to provide maintenance for all persons entitled to the same, the maintenance shall preferably be given to the most indigent of them.
181. In the case mentioned in Section 129, relatives equally with the spouse, the children and the parents of the deceased shall have a concurrent right to administer and dispose of the said estate.
Chapter V
Adoption
182. Adopted persons, step-children and their descendants, in their relationship towards their adopters, and the latter in relation with the former shall have rights similar to those enjoyed by relatives by blood.
183. The adoption of children, either related or unrelated to their adopters, shall not be permitted after the present law comes into force. No such adoption, made after the date indicated in this section, shall give rise to any duties or obligations for the adopters or the adopted.