Protecting Russia’s orphans

April 13, 2011
Svetlana Smetanina

Russian government is finally tackling the problem of adoptions by foreign citizens in earnest. A watershed event is scheduled to take place in May: the signing of a bilateral agreement on adoptions between Russia and the United States. The signing will take place at a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The agreement was prepared by the staff of Pavel Astakhov, Children Rights Commissioner for the president of the Russian Federation.