A five-year-old girl who was left alone in a filthy Moscow flat for several days is being treated in intensive care.
Water and electricity had been cut off to the apartment due to unpaid bills.
After the girl was rescued, officials said it appeared she was unable to speak.
The property was filled with rubbish, most of the furniture had been destroyed and the walls and ceilings were smeared with paint and dirt.
Inside the apartment in Moscow | Image: Sky NewsAnna Kuznetsova, ombudswoman for children's rights in Russia, said: "Any fruit or other food we offered her she first smelled, and only then took in her hands. It's very disturbing to watch.
"She hasn't been taught to sleep on a bed, it was very hard for us to put her to sleep. She's also afraid of water."
The girl's mother has been detained and officials have launched a criminal inquiry into conspiracy to murder.
Investigators are also looking into the actions of police and social workers.
Image: Sky NewsOfficials who questioned the mother said she insisted she had to leave the child alone for "short periods" to go to work.
Neighbours interviewed by Russian state television said the girl's mother kept to herself and that her behaviour did not arouse any suspicion.
