Mothers serving prison terms in Russia are getting a second chance to raise their children. Sentences are being reduced for those with young families.

Maria Krechkova starts a typical day with her son Max. It includes cooking in the kitchen, a little artwork and some good old fashioned fun and games.

However, it could have been very different. Maria is lucky to be at home at all.

By 2001 she was a heroin addict beginning a four-year sentence for possession and dealing. Her other son Roman was seven at the time.

But two years into her term Maria was paroled under a law which can allow mothers with young children early release. Only around 6,000 women across the whole country are in the programme and they need to meet strict conditions: inmates must be serving less than six years and have children under 14.

“You are under constant surveillance with constant check-ups and visits from inspectors. You definitely feel it all the time. But it gives me a chance to be with my kids,” Maria says.

Maria has done her best to change her life. She's found a job and says she’s been clean from drugs for years. But her biggest test is yet to come.

For now Maria gets to enjoy a normal life with her son Max, but that could all change in a month’s time when her eldest son Roman turns 14. If social inspectors decide she hasn’t sufficiently changed her ways, she could go straight back to prison.
And this time the fact she has another young child won’t help her. She’ll be behind bars for the full two remaining years of her sentence.

She could end up in a women’s detention facility on the outskirts of Moscow.

The prisoners in the there enjoy a relatively relaxed regime but any who can are jumping at the chance to get out.

There are more than a 1,000 women in colony number five. Many have young children. Obtaining early release isn’t easy, but it’s something many are desperate to do for the chance to see their sons and daughters grow up.

Vika is already starting her application. She’s just begun a three-year sentence for dealing cocaine, but still maintains her innocence.

However she’s not afraid that her request might be turned down. If she’s successful, she’ll soon be able to enjoy time with her own little girl.