Russian children’s rights ombudsman speaks candidly about his mission to abolish foreign adoption and end Russia’s role as an international “donor of orphans.”

Anna Nemtsova, special to RBTH
February 19, 2013

Russian children’s rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov, 47, is a man with a controversial mission: to end once and for all the American adoption of Russian children. In an interview with Anna Nemtsova, he said he wants to end foreign adoption entirely. Three years ago, when he was appointed ombudsman for children’s rights, he declared that foreign adoption was “shameful” for Russia. In early February, Astakhov was appointed adviser to the president.

Hot topic: Adoption Ban
Astakhov has had a diverse and storied legal career. In his past work as a defense lawyer, Astakhov frequently criticized the Russian court system. Later he gained more notoriety for being the star judge on a televised legal education show “The Hour of Judgment.”

His international family lives in Moscow and in France; he is married with three sons. His youngest was born in France and his oldest son studied in the United States and United Kingdom. When asked if he would consider adoption, Astakhov said, “That is very difficult; I have no time to see my own children.”

At the time the Russian government decided to ban U.S. adoption at the end of 2012, about 1,000 American families were in the midst of adoption proceedings. The new law was named after Dima Yakovlev, a toddler who died of heat stroke in Virginia, after his adoptive father left him in a parked car for many hours.

More than 60,000 American couples have adopted Russian orphans; 19 of the adopted children have died, some at the hands of their adoptive parents in the United States.

RBTH: One of the main arguments lawmakers made for banning adoption was that it had become impossible to monitor or control Russian orphans once they were in the United States. The owner of a ranch in Montana, Joyce Sterkel, told Kommersant newspaper that if you had asked her properly, she would have received you. Are you aware that she was upset that you referred to her ranch as “a prison for kids”?
P.A.: To be honest with you, I did not read the interview but I can imagine things she said to defend her reputation. A Russian consul visited her ranch in 2010 and saw 30 children including 10 Russian orphans living there. As far as I know, parents paid the ranch owner about $4,000 for every child. (more…)

Published: 18 February, 2013, 17:57

After being brutally beaten by his American adoptive mother, who gave him psychotropic medication for an extended period of time, a 3-year-old Russian boy named Maksim has died in Texas, Russian diplomats have said.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a probe into the death of Maksim Kuzmin at the hands of his adoptive American family.
The boy died before medics, called by his adoptive mother, arrived at the scene. An autopsy showed that he suffered multiple injuries to his head, limb, abdomen and internal organs prior to death.

The investigation revealed that Maksim was beaten by his adoptive mother, who had also fed him strong psychotropic medication. The boy was given Risperdal, an anti-psychotic drug mainly used for short-term treatment of schizophrenia and bilateral disorders and approved for prescription in the US with the starting age of 10.

The US State Department did not comment on the boy’s death, which reportedly happened on January 21. Nevertheless, the incident became known to the Russian Embassy in the US. (more…)

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news

Putin inks controversial bill less than 24 hours after receiving it from Parliament. Critics wail that the measure turns innocent children into victims for the sole purpose of making a political point. Roughly 740,000 children await adoption in Russia.

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012, 5:55 AM

Russia’s parliament approves measure to ban Americans from adopting Russian children, in reaction to U.S. human rights legislation: Measure could become law Friday

MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children, making the legislation official less than 24 hours after his office received it from Parliament.

The bill has angered Americans and Russians who argue it victimizes children to make a political point, cutting off a route out of frequently dismal orphanages for thousands of children. The Russian-language hashtag “PutinEatsKids” was trending on Twitter just minutes after Putin signed it.

UNICEF estimates that there are about 740,000 children not in parental custody in Russia while about 18,000 Russians are on the waiting list to adopt a child.

The law also blocks dozens of Russian children now in the process of being adopted by American families from leaving the country. The U.S. is the biggest destination for adopted Russian children — more than 60,000 of them have been taken in by Americans over the past two decades.

READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE BILL (more…)