Five Artamkin twins became first-graders! Life in the "zoo": the tragic fate of the quintuplets Dion Where 5 twins were born.

Incredible Facts

A Scottish woman recently gave birth to her third set of twins. The probability of such an event is 1 in 500,000.

Karen Rodger, 41, and her husband Colin, 44, from Glasgow, are parents again after having another pair of twins, Rowan and Isla.

Girls are non-identical twins or twins and were born by caesarean section with a difference of 2 minutes.

The couple already have four twin boys: 14-year-old Lewis (Lewis) and Kyle (Kyle) and 12-year-old Finn (Finn) and Jude (Jude).

Roger believed that her family was not completely complete and decided to have another child. The woman found out that she was again expecting twins on an ultrasound scan at the 6th week of pregnancy and sent a message about the addition to the family to her husband.

Upon learning of this, he thought that his wife was joking and answered her: "It's not funny." Roger had to explain to her husband that this was really, really true.

Now the couple and four older brothers are very excited about the addition to the family.

Birth of twins: quintuplets

Another amazing news about the birth of as many as five twins appeared in the Czech Republic. So, the other day, 23-year-old woman Alexandra Kinova gave birth to the first quintuplets in the country.

Four boys: Daniel, Michael, Alex and Martin and baby girl Terezka were born by caesarean section on Sunday.

The head physician at the Prague Institute of Maternal and Child Health said the delivery was uneventful. Alexandra and her five children are now in the intensive care unit.

The twins were conceived naturally and they have a 95 percent chance of growing up healthy. The father of five twins was present at the birth.

The couple lives in the town of Milovich near Prague and they already have an older son.

Twins vs Twins: What's the difference?

Pregnancy with two or more fetuses is called multiple pregnancy. Children born from multiple pregnancies are called twins. Twins can be identical (identical) or non-identical (fraternal).

Identical twins develop from a single egg that has been fertilized by a single sperm. This egg then splits into two or more embryos.

Non-identical twins develop from two different eggs and their fertilization.

Twins can be twins, triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets etc., while twins are always twins.

For two decades, the 5 Dionne sisters have been the most popular characters in all of Canada. They were a trademark, their photos were used for posters, for advertising.
Behind the impressive history of acquisitiveness, the business that was done on girls from the moment they were born, lies the history of dishonest people who did not feel the slightest remorse, and, as a result, the not very successful life of the twins.

On May 8, 1934, in the city of Corbay - northwest of Ontario, an unprecedented event occurred for Canada, a woman gave birth to five twins in the seventh month of pregnancy and they all survived. Just think: In 1934! At that time, infant mortality was high, the quintuplets seemed to have no chance at all to survive. All children survived.
In the photo, next to their mother: Yvonne, Annette, Cecile, Emily and Marie Reine.

One fine day, a man called the local newspaper in the larger town of Callender and announced in an uncertain voice that he had quintuplets and would like to advertise this event. The editor, not believing his ears, asked again: “What are you talking about? Is it really five at once? Nothing more sensational has ever happened in their town! "My God! It's a miracle! the editor exclaimed excitedly, "if that's true, it'll be free for you."

The amazing news about the appearance of the Dion sisters spread throughout Canada in a few days. Their small legs were no thicker than fingers, and miniature bodies weighing about 600 g easily fit in the palm of your hand. The midwife who delivered the birth was convinced that the babies would live no more than an hour, and in a hurry she sprinkled them with holy water, christening them with the names: Annette, Marie, Emily, Yvonne and Cecile.

The history of the birth of quintuplets

The girls were born to poor farmer Oliva (1903-1979), mother Elzire Dion (1909-1986), in a house without running water or electricity, where five other family members lived.

Elzire suspected that she was pregnant with twins, but no one suggested that quintuplets were possible. The babies were born two months prematurely. Later, genetic tests showed that the girls were identical and originated from a single egg. The mother of the quintuplets reported that a slight tone in the third month of pregnancy was accompanied by the release of a strange object, which may have been the sixth fetus. The successful birth of quintuplets is attributed to Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe.

The babies, wrapped in heated blankets, were placed in an ordinary wicker basket borrowed from the neighbors. They were brought into the kitchen and placed near the stove door to keep warm. One by one, the girls were taken out of the basket and massaged with olive oil. For the first 24 hours, the girls ate water sweetened with corn syrup every two hours. By the second day, they were moved to a laundry basket that was larger than the previous one and warmed up with heating pads. The girls were woken up every two hours and fed a mixture of cow's milk, boiled water, two tablespoons of corn syrup, and one or two drops of rum for stimulation.

Striving for profit

When the sisters were 6 months old, their father decided to show his daughters at the World's Fair in Chicago, which prompted the Canadian authorities to seriously organize an unusual show. The father signed the contract, however, the next day he canceled it, but it was too late.

The authorities built a special pavilion with ten huge windows and a gallery from where people could see unusual girls. The Dion sisters were in the exhibition pavilion from 1935 to 1943, and during this time they were seen by more than 3 million people. Thanks to the sisters, the Chicago Exposition became a major city attraction, which caused an unprecedented influx of tourists. Cash fees from viewing famous twins went to a specially opened account, in favor of the Dion sisters.

The most famous twins have become something of a cult. Several films have been made about them in Hollywood. Enterprises producing baby food, clothes, powders and other goods for children successfully used their photographs as advertising. The girls were kept like animals in the zoo, which was evidence of one of the most cynical ways in which children are used for profit.

Covers of famous magazines, commercials, banner ads... it created the image of the five Dion twins.

Composite dolls made in 1937 by the American company Madame Alexander, depicting Marie, Emily, Cecile, Annette and Yvonne Dionne.

They had such fame in the country and even beyond its borders that in 1939, the King of Great Britain, who was with official visit in Toronto, visited the girls to look at them as a curiosity.

The parents decided to look for a lawyer who would relentlessly deal with the court again and again, forcing him to recognize the decision to take the children away as monstrous and unfair.
Meanwhile, the five twins were dragged across the country and taken to Hollywood, where they were filmed for the first time when they were just two years old.

In 1943, when the girls were 9 years old, the court ruled in favor of the Dion couple, returning their daughters to them.

Canadian authorities lined up in Callander big house with the aim of settling the whole Dion family there. This idea was not entirely successful, as the sisters were unsuitable for such a life. The father was irritated that he was deprived in the division of income, and the children, accustomed to living in an aviary, could not get used to the new way of life. The twins lived in this house until the age of 16, after which they were sent to a boarding school.

But on May 28, 1952, everything changed. The twins turned 18 and the first thing they did was close the business that had existed from the very first moment they were born. The second decision was also unanimous and unambiguous - they each left home in search of their own destiny.

Timid, withdrawn girls were not capable of normal communication with other people. Three years later, Emily went to the monastery, where she was diagnosed with epileptic seizures, which caused her premature death. For her sisters, this was a real blow, which prompted them to write the book “We were five”, where they indignantly accused the authorities and their family of soulless cynicism and immorality.

Russian clinics were unable to help the mother of many children in the management of pregnancy and childbirth, so five Russian twins were born abroad.

Five girls were born in November 2007 in Oxford (Great Britain), where Varvara Artamkina went to give birth after Russian specialists could not help her with pregnancy and childbirth.

The girls were born at the 26th week of pregnancy, and at first they were in special incubators for nursing premature babies. Due to the lack of appropriate equipment in Oxford, 3 babies were transferred to a similar clinic in London, Queen Charlotte. This was done after the condition of all the newborns had stabilized and the doctors considered travel possible.

Varvara and Dmitry Artamkin Muscovites. Varvara is 29, she is a music teacher. Dmitry Artamkin, 28, teaches mathematics at a Moscow university.

The Artamkins are deeply religious people and categorically refused the “partial abortion” offered by Moscow doctors. This practice is widespread in the medical world. Surgeons remove some of the embryos to keep the rest alive.


Which Russian clinics did you apply to?

Dmitriy: In all leading centers of Moscow. The answers were quite different. For example, in one well-known Center for Maternal and Child Health, when parting, one professor said to my wife: “You can do what you want, but know that the leading center in Moscow refuses you.” In the Family Planning Center, on the contrary, we were received very well, but, having explained what a risk it was, they offered to seek help abroad.

Having learned about the Oxford clinic, where they know how to nurse premature babies, the Artamkins began to look for funds for a train to the UK. One Moscow family paid for Artamkin's childbirth in England on an all-inclusive basis - both medical care and accommodation in Oxford.

Which girl was born first?

Dmitriy: Elizabeth.

Who came up with the names?

Barbara: My husband chose the names, I was not up to it at that moment. They told my father, he approved, I nodded ...

Varvara talks about her daughters and at the same time is very worried that one of the Russian newspapers wrote complete nonsense about them.
“The most unpleasant thing in all this,” Dmitry admits, “is the information that our children are from a test tube - conceived by IVF and that, they say, in general Orthodox Church treats this negatively, but they made an exception for us, because Varvara's father is a priest, an archpriest. Not true! There was no IVF!”.


Grandmother told the Artamkins' love story. Varya and Dima went to school together, and there they began to meet. Then youthful love grew into serious relationship. They got married in 2001. The first child of the Artamkins died, then they had to be treated, but the doctors gave too much of a hormonal drug, which led to multiple conceptions. First they said that there were four children, then five ...

Varya never complained about how difficult it was to carry five, although the pregnancy was difficult, she had to lie down a lot. But the most difficult for her was the doctors' prognosis.

Lawrence Impey, an obstetrician-gynecologist who delivered Varvara's child, says: “I can't blame Russian doctors. If Barbara came to me for more early term, I would advise the same. But she arrived when she was already at 15 weeks, and all that remained was to try to keep the pregnancy as long as possible. I immediately told Varvara: most likely we will not have five living children. But we are very lucky! If she had given birth even a week earlier, everything would have been completely different. ”

18 doctors and nurses took part in the birth of "quintuplets"! According to the doctor, it was like a conveyor belt. One doctor took the child, gave it to the nurse, he was taken to the intensive care unit, and then another child came.

The crumbs weighed only 900 grams, and the doctor allowed their grandfather to immediately christen the babies. Father Vladimir baptized them with a reduced rank. They couldn't even breathe. He read all the prayers, sprinkled them with water and anointed them with holy myrrh. The girls were given names: Elizabeth, Alexandra, Nadezhda, Tatyana and Varvara.


“Varya and Dima were in the same class, got married after graduation,” says Dmitry Artamkin’s mother, Irina Georgievna. We are very good friends with our daughter-in-law's family. They said on TV that our children are involved in some kind of sect ... It is unpleasant and disgusting for us to hear this. Yes, we are Orthodox religious people but not crazy fanatics.

— Your granddaughters were conceived by artificial insemination?

— What are you? It was a natural conception. There is nothing strange in the fact that Varya gave birth to “five”. For example, I have two twin daughters. These are Dima's sisters. As you know, such things are inherited. Unfortunately, Varvara could not give birth in Moscow. Many clinics simply refused to accept such a woman in labor. They explained that the case was too complicated and it was a huge risk for the mother. The doctors were afraid she might die. Then we found the best clinic in the world that specializes in premature babies. Of course, we would never be able to pay for this operation, for us this is an unbearable amount, but, thank God, we found good people who helped us pay for the road and childbirth.

- Where are the young parents going to place such a lovely bunch of children?

- One relative of Varia wrote them a small two-room apartment. We hope for the support of the Moscow authorities. Perhaps they will be given more living space. The guys themselves are unlikely to be able to buy a huge apartment. My son is a mathematician, Varya is a teacher. Their earnings are more than modest.


Over the past five years, this is the first time that five twins have been born in the United Kingdom at once. Prior to this, a similar event occurred at the end of 2002 in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland; this year the Belfast Five have already gone to school. In Moscow, the last time a quintuplet was born 11 years ago.

“Varvara came to us at the 15th week of pregnancy,” said Professor Wilkins. - For almost three months, we have carried out various activities aimed at pushing the delivery date as far as possible. The 11 weeks we gained as a result of these efforts proved to be decisive in saving the lives of the girls.”

“For me, the fact that children were born alive is a miracle. Everything was in the hands of God. We will go to church and light a candle for each of the newborns,” says 24-year-old Maria, Dmitry's sister.

This story is similar to the stories of many Russian couples. "AiF" wrote about another Moscow family, which was waiting for the "four". The metropolitan luminaries of gynecology demanded to get rid of two children, otherwise there was a possibility that they could be born blind, deaf, with cerebral palsy. Only the courage of the mother, her faith and the support of her husband led this story to a happy ending - there are four healthy children in the family.

When meeting at Domodedovo airport, First Deputy Mayor of Moscow Lyudmila Shvetsova handed the Artamkins the keys to a four-room apartment in the center of the capital.

Seven years after this amazing birth, the girls - Elizabeth, Alexandra, Nadezhda, Tatyana and Varvara Artamkin - came from Moscow to the UK to heartily thank the doctors and nurses who helped make this possible. modern miracle come true.

“It’s not easy with them, but they are worth any fatigue! says Barbara. - They are very close to each other, although sometimes they quarrel, like any sisters. They dress in a similar way, because otherwise they become jealous. Each has its own special character, and we support them in this, so that each one has a personality. Nadezhda and Elizabeth love to read. Varvara, the tallest girl, is the most serious of the sisters. Tatyana is always smiling.”

Dmitry joins the story: “Alexandra is a leader. Although they would all like to play a leadership role. Quiet is not among them. All are noisy."

The family saved money on purpose to return to the UK, as they all really wanted the girls to return to their place of birth.

Gemini is one of the most interesting signs of the Zodiac in terms of psychology. We have prepared for you information about 10 unusual facts about these people who can amaze you.

Fact six: Geminis love to travel. Even they themselves do not understand why, but they just like to drive a car with music to another city. They love roadside romance - roadside cafes, sleeping in the car. They are ready to go somewhere even alone, just to go.

Fact seven: absolutely in everything these people are looking for a reason to think and reflect. This applies to music, movies, books. They cannot do without it, because it seems to them that their brain is gradually atrophying. They are born philosophers.

Fact eight: They Good friends. Do you need to pull the car out of the mud at 4 o'clock in the morning? They will come even if they cannot help. Appreciate their friendship because they love you with all their hearts. They are liars, but there is no place for lies, so if they tell you that you mean a lot to them, then you are.

Fact nine: they often cannot repay a person for kindness. This applies to soulmates and parents. If they see that they are helped by those who live with them, then it is not always possible to hear a loud thank you. They just quickly get used to the good, including sincere kindness.

Fact ten: They are gossips. Gemini love to talk about mutual acquaintances, telling secrets. In most cases this is harmless, but sometimes they can go too far, so they receive physical punishment in the form of beatings. Oh yes, they never learn from mistakes, and in principle.

Find out which metal suits you according to your zodiac sign. The power of nature, expressed in metal jewelry, can be a great help in finding happiness and good luck. This is especially true of our Gemini, whose energy balance is especially unstable. Good luck and don't forget to press the buttons and

05.09.2016 05:33

Sometimes we notice that in some Zodiac Signs, the energy seems to prevail over ours. AND...

The five sisters, who were born into the family of a poor farmer on May 28, 1934, became a real gold mine, earning a lot of money for the Canadian government. Their story has been in the public domain since the beginning and a constant topic in the media. But neither money nor fame brought them happiness.
The Dion quintuplets have gone down in history as the most famous and at the same time the most unfortunate identical twins.

On May 28, 1934, five famous Canadian twin girls were born in a small village in northern Ontario. Premature seven-month-old girls with tiny arms and legs weighed only 600 grams. The doctor who delivered the baby was sure that the babies would not live even an hour, so they were baptized in a hurry. But the sisters were the first quintuplets to survive. The amazing news about the birth of the Dion sisters spread throughout Canada in a few days. In the photo: mother Elzire Dion and her five daughters: Annette, Marie, Emily, Yvonne and Cecile Dion, May 28, 1934.

The children were born to a poor farmer named Oliva Dion, who, with his wife and three older children, lived on a farm in a house with no electricity or running water. During pregnancy, the farmer's wife suspected she was pregnant with twins, but the birth of five babies at once was a huge surprise. Childbirth took place at home. They were taken in by Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe, who was convinced that none of the babies could survive. Shortly after giving birth, the mother of the quintuplets, Elzaire, experienced a severe shock, and Dafoe thought that she would also die, but after two hours the woman recovered.

Immediately after the birth of premature babies, they were wrapped in heated blankets and set to warm in a basket near the stove. The mother did not have milk, so every two hours they were given a mixture of water, corn syrup, cow's milk and a couple of drops of rum. Pictured: Ontario Premier Mitchell Hepburn with the Dion babies, 1934.

When the sisters were 6 months old, their father decided to show his daughters at the Chicago World's Fair. This was learned by the Canadian authorities, who decided to start organizing an unusual show. A special pavilion was built for girls with ten huge windows and a gallery so that the little ones could be seen better. In the photo: sisters Anette, Cecile, Emily, Marie and Yvonne in 1936.

The Dion sisters were in the exhibition pavilion from 1935 to 1943, and during this time they were seen by more than 3 million people. Thanks to the sisters, the Chicago Exposition became the city's main attraction, which caused an unprecedented influx of tourists.

Every day, several thousand people came to stare at the quintuplets. The girls, under the supervision of nurses, played on what looked like a playground, around which, behind a net, an observation deck was built for onlookers. Children were like animals in an enclosure, which was evidence of one of the most cynical ways in which children are used for profit. Here you could buy souvenirs in a special shop. Admission was free for visitors, but the Canadian government made a lot of money selling a wide variety of merchandise featuring the sisters. The girls have become a real brand. For example, in honor of them, special sets of five dolls were produced.

The most famous twins have become something of a cult. Several films have been made about them in Hollywood. Enterprises - manufacturers of baby food, clothes, powders and other goods for children successfully used their photographs as advertising.

The girls lived in isolation from the world. They had expensive toys fashion clothes, the best care of pediatricians. However, they were deprived of contact with their parents and communication with their brothers and sisters, as well as with peers. In the photo: the Dion sisters are given gifts at the Defoe farm.

When the quintuplets were nine years old, the Canadian authorities built a large house in Callander with the goal of settling the entire Dion family there. However, this was not a very successful undertaking, since the sisters were not adapted to such a life. After so many years of separation to build normal family relationships turned out to be impossible. Other children from the Dion family were never able to accept their long-absent twin sisters.

The father was irritated that he was deprived in the division of income, and the children, accustomed to living in an aviary, could not get used to the new way of life. The twins lived in this house until the age of 16, after which they were sent to a boarding school. Pictured: the Dion sisters in May 1943, a few days before their 9th birthday.

The girls starred in various commercials, mainly cosmetics and food. Each of their birthdays was celebrated with the participation of funds mass media. In the photo: 16-year-old Dion sisters after visiting the hairdresser, October 19, 1950.

Timid, closed girls were not capable of normal communication. An unusual childhood, spent in fact in a human zoo, forever left a mark on the psyche of girls. Pictured: 16-year-old sisters at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, October 19, 1950.

The girls were little adapted to normal life. With difficulty communicating with people, the sisters only in each other's company could feel free and at ease. After their eighteenth birthday, the girls broke off all contact with their family, who also tried to take advantage of their popularity and make money on them. Pictured: the Dion sisters in New York, October 21, 1950.

Further fate sisters was very sad. At the age of 20, Emily died, who went to the monastery early, where she was diagnosed with epileptic seizures, which caused her premature death. For her sisters, this was a real blow. In the photo: twin sisters with their father at the Rockefeller Center in New York, October 20, 1950.

Marie died at the age of 30, after an unsuccessful marriage. Cecile and Annette also failed to find happiness in family life. All their lives they felt an irresistible attraction to each other, talked for hours on the phone and felt great joy during mutual visits. Cecile also had twins, but soon one of the twins died. Three years later she was widowed. Yvonne went into monasticism, but did not get along in the monastery. She spent the rest of her life in seclusion. Pictured: the Dion sisters at a press conference in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Already adult Dion sisters sued and received compensation from the state in the amount of $ 4 million. “It's too late and too little for our ruined lives,” commented the famous sisters. Two of the quintuplets live to this day. In the photo: three sisters: Yvonne, Annette and Cecile with their autobiography "Family Secrets", October 2, 1995.