Kemerovo outlaws all international adoption from the region; urges Russian Duma to follow suit
The legislature of the Russian region of Kemerovo (Kuzbass) has voted unanimously to ban all adoptions by foreigners of local children. Galina Solovyova, Kemerovo lawmaker and co-chair of the regional educational committee, said in an official statement, quoted in The Moscow Times and elsewhere, “We think that the adoption of young citizens is an internal affair of Russia, an internal affair of Kuzbass” Solovyova, says that the new legislation was drafted due to local complaints over adoptee abuse in the US. Solovyova also cited the recent re-homing investigation by Reuters, which documented the transfer of unwanted adoptees to non-biological and non-adoptive individuals and couples–including pedophiles- often outside the parameters of child welfare and adoption regulations. She particularity slammed social network cites in the US and Europe that “exchange and sell children adopted from Russia.” (Here’s a Facebook example of an ostensibly “legal” exchange.) Adoption should only be permitted domestically. Last week the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded investigation and prosecution in the cases of at least 26 Russia-to US re-homed adoptees. The origins of these adoptees has not been released. Kemerovo has, however, been a popular sending point. According to RIA Novisti 77 children from the region this year alone have been disbursed worldwide. Continue Reading →