Kemerovo outlaws all international adoption from region; urges Russian Duma to follow

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. When looking for details on this story today I found several Kemerovo adopter blogs some dating back five years.

Kemerovo is in SW Siberia, ENE of Novosibirsk

 Banning international adoption is nothing new to  Kemerovo.  Last year the legislature banned the adoption of  Kemerovo  Region children by US citizens. A few months later the Russian Duma, following suit,  shut down all adoption trade between the two countries. Solovyova hopes the Russian Duma takes notice of this new measure which needs only the governor's signature to take effect..


A special thanks to my friend in Moscow Kyle Keaton for alerting me to this story early this morning.  If you want to know more about Russian culture and society--well everything about Russia-- check out his Windows on Russia.  It's almost as good as being there. 

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Cross-posted  from The Daily Bastardette

Life Imitates Art: Mary Landrieu calls Pavel Astakhov an ass; Then files bill to speed up adoption

Two weeks ago New Yorker satirist Andy Borowitz wrote  G20 Ends Abruptly when Obama calls Putin a Jackass.

Last week, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) , in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty called Russian Children's Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov, who supports Russia's refusal to re-open its child coffers to needy American paps,  an ass. And it wasn't satire.  

To  make sure  RFE/RL knew this just wasn't a slip of her sloppy political tongue, Landrieu reiterated:

"He doesn't want to hear the truth," the senator says. "He's an ass. You can write that: He's an ass!" 

 And RFE/RL did just that.

Despite the impeccable US news  source , no other US media picked up  Landrieu's  insult to a high ranking member of the Putin government, and so far only the English language edition of  RIA Novisti  has published the account (though it may appear in the Russian language press.) Astakhov's
Russian or English language tweets make no note of the outburst.  Does Bastardette have to do Drudge's work?

To add insult to injury Landrieu claimed during the interview that Russian officials  are wrong when they say that American adopters  who abuse and kill  their Russian acquisitions aren't punished. Obviously Landrieu is the one who's mistaken.   My  blog  Nikto Ne Zabyt--Nichto Ne Zabyto, routinely accessed by the US State Department, the Russian government, and the press, documents the cases of Russian adoptees  murdered by their forever American adoptive parents.  Very few killers have received heavy sentences.

Landrieu's remarks were  published only one day after the Russian  Foreign Ministry  called for the US to investigate and prosecute the cases of at least 26 Russian children  who have been re-homed to non-biological and non-adoptive families -including pedophiles--outside of the already suspect  adoption industry.

Moreover, while Landrieu was busy comparing Astakhov to donkey parts, she was also busy introducing an industrial-size piece of busybody but very dangerous legislation: the Children in Families First of 2013 bill.  (CHIFF) Though pimped with nice-nice terms such as "family preservation,"  and "kinship adoption" the bill is clearly an attempt to refocus US foreign policy to ramp up and speed up foreign placement in the US.  You know.  Make it easier for Americans to adopt other people's children. The bill is backed by  the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys,  Both Ends Burning ,  the Center for Adoption Policy (CAP), the Christian Alliance for Orphans, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI)  (the misnamed) Equality for Adopted Children (EACH),  Kidsave International, the National Council for Adoption(NCFA), the Joint Council for International Children's Services ( JCICS),  and  Rick Warren's Saddleback Church.  A serious, well-funded  PR campaign  to whisk this monster through is already in in place.   

Note that no adoptee rights and adoption reform groups were asked to weigh in. Of course these shut-up-and-be-grateful  industry hotshots don't care what we think. Unfortunately for them, they're about to find out!

I haven't had the time to read the full 77-page bill yet, but I'll be writing about it soon. In the meantime read Pound Pup's extensive analysis of the bill here.   Then contact Landrieu's office and tell her what you think of her latest attempt to disfranchise the children of the world.

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Crossposted from The Daily Bastardette