A WOMAN arrested for abandoning her toddler before going to stay with a friend over 500 miles away told cops she did not understand what all the fuss was about.

The mother, 39, who has not been named, allegedly abandoned her young son on the stairwell of a block of flats in the town of Shchyolkovo, north-east of Moscow, Russia.

According to police reports, the woman had constant quarrels with her boyfriend who insisted that the child should not live in his flat.

The mother, who did not have her own place to live, allegedly decided to get rid of her son hoping that her life would be easier without him.

She said during police interrogation: "I woke up that morning after my boyfriend left for work. I fed him, gave him some medicine for his cold and took him for a walk. I brought him to that block of flats and told him to wait for me there, then I went away."

According to local media, after promising her toddler that she would be back soon, the mother went to a railway station and caught a train to the city of Saratov - 575 miles from Shchyolkovo.

Reports said that she did not take her child, who had a cold and slight fever, with her on the trip as she considered him an inconvenience.

Crying and frightened, the child was found by the residents at the block of flats who then called the police.

The toddler was taken to hospital for a check up while cops spread the child's photos online and in local media in hope of finding his mother.

She told detectives: "I visited a female friend and stayed at her place for two weeks."

Two weeks later, police found the mother travelling from Saratov back to Shchyolkovo and arrested her on the train.

According to reports, the mother was surprised when she learned that she had been wanted by the authorities and said during her detention: “I did not know that it was so serious.”

Police spokeswoman Tatiana Petrova said: "The suspect is charged with failure to fulfil her parental responsibilities and with leaving the child in danger.

"She is also going to be deprived of parental rights."

The tot was discharged from hospital and is in the care of a foster family, according to reports.

His mother faces up to three years in prison if found guilty.