Gleb Savchenko accused his ex-wife of kidnapping their two daughters and taking them to Hong Kong, where they have lived for the past two years.
The “Dancing with the Stars” pro filed for an emergency custody order in Los Angeles on Tuesday. He is seeking temporary sole custody of his eldest daughter Olivia, 15. He and his ex-wife Elena Samodanova also have a daughter, Zlata, 8.
In court documents obtained by Page Six, Savchenko claims there was an agreement with Samodanova, a professional dancer and choreographer, that she could take her daughters to Hong Kong, where she was working on a project. But Gleb claims he was supposed to return it a year later, according to court documents. She claims that she refused to return her children to the United States, instead enrolling them in private school, and that she became engaged to another man (Vlad Kvartin) and had a child with her fiancé.
Savchenko also claims that his former defendant also took his daughters to Moscow and Vietnam without permission.
Savchenko said Olivia, who is currently with him in California, wants to be with him and attend high school there.
“Olivia does not want to be prevented from being with me because her mother has dominated, commanded, and restricted her for the past several years,” he said in the document. “Finally, Olivia does not want to return to Hong Kong for any reason or under any circumstances and is afraid to do so.”
Savchenko claims that Olivia is frightened by her “mother’s temper and anger issues.” He also claims that his eldest daughter told him about her alleged attempts to keep him away from his children.
“If Olivia goes back to her mother, she won’t be able to talk to me or see me anymore, and I have no doubt that Zlata will too,” he says. “We are extremely concerned about Olivia’s current mental state after years of abuse at the hands of her mother.”
Page Six has reached out to both parties for comment.
In a statement to TMZ, Samodanova denied her ex-husband’s accusations and insisted that Olivia is “thriving” in Hong Kong. She also criticized him for keeping Olivia in California when she was due to return to Hong Kong on June 5th.
“This is an unwarranted international reservation,” she argued. “His emergency filing is a hasty attempt to circumvent proper law.”
Earlier this month, Savchenko posted a photo of himself and Olivia on Instagram.
She captioned the post: “A few days without rushing. Grocery shopping. Cooking from scratch. Working out together. Long conversations. A little time to slow down and actually be present.”
He added: “It’s a funny reminder that life’s simplest days are often the most memorable.”
Savchenko, 42, and Samodanova, 43, married in July 2006. She filed for divorce in December 2020, accusing Savchenko of infidelity, which Samodanova vehemently denies.
Their split is controversial. In March 2022, she demanded full custody of their daughters, claiming in court documents that he was “unavailable” to care for them.
