Putin and the Kids | Teen Ink

Putin and the Kids

January 18, 2013
By collegegirladventures GOLD, Mequon, Wisconsin
collegegirladventures GOLD, Mequon, Wisconsin
10 articles 8 photos 307 comments

Favorite Quote:
A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep.

~Salman Rushdie


On Friday, December 28, 2012, President Vladimir Putin of Russia enacted into law a contentious adoption ban of Russian kids by U.S. citizens. This ban, which took effect last Tuesday, now leaves in a state of uncertainty nearly 50 kids who were close to finishing the process of getting adopted. The 120,000+ neglected, orphaned Russians who were once qualified for adoption now won’t be able to go to America and live with loving families.

Russia is the 3rd highest source of the international adoptions, with China and Ethiopia in the lead. In the last 20 years, nearly 70,000 Russian kids have been adopted in the U.S., which includes disabled kids who aren’t able to receive the necessary care in their country. The number of adopted children declined to an annual amount of about 1,000 in recent years.

Before the ban was signed, the U.S. congress enacted the Magnitsky Act, which was used to block human-rights violators from coming into or putting money in U.S. banks. This act was named for Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died in a Russian prison in 2009 after revealing a $230 million fraud carried out by older Russian policemen. Russia signed the adoption ban as payback for the U.S. exposing Russia’s bad side.

Both Americans and Russians have shown their feelings about the adoption ban. Some Russian liberals and government officials are mad that children had to be brought in the middle of a political issue. More than 100,000 Russian citizens signed a request against the law, put together by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper. A lot of Americans are shocked by the ban.

Not being able to adopt foreign kids, in my opinion, is bad enough. But for Russia to prohibit a whole country in doing so by means of revenge is totally over-the-top. Adoption shouldn’t be something that’s prohibited. Rather, it should be the free choice of individuals.


The author's comments:
For government class, we have to pick something from the newspaper, write about it, and present it to the class. When I first heard about the adoption ban, I was a bit fired up about it, and wanted to share my feelings about this. I hope you all enjoy the article! :)

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