The response from the Russian police was to be expected: “It’s a private matter, we don’t intervene,” they said. She tried calling up hospitals and social services, but the response was the same – no one wanted to know.

Ms Pisklakova-Parker went on to found Russia’s national centre for violence prevention, also known as the Anna Centre, in 1993. Two years later she contacted the church to discuss opening a shelter for victims of domestic abuse, but the talks came to nothing.

Now, two decades on, she recalls that memory at an event in Moscow to promote a new women’s shelter that opened in March under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Anna Centre.

The Kitezh shelter lies on the grounds of a monastery and is the first non-governmental women’s refuge to open in the Moscow region. Four women and four children are currently staying at the shelter, which provides help to women regardless of their religious beliefs.

Several nuns and monks also live at the monastery, where a small on-site bakery allows the clergy to subsidise their existence. Sheep and cows are kept nearby, and milk is provided for the women free of charge.