Source: Ania Viver
On January 18, Russia’s Ombudsman for children, Pavel Astakhov, and Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, stated that they would seek an official moratorium on adoption of Russian children by American families. Cooperation on adoption between the two countries has seen its ups and downs following the pattern of U.S. -Russia relations, but the public discourse on international adoption has also served as a tool of Russian domestic policy to strengthen control over Russians and to spread anti-American attitudes. As a result, the discourse is rarely focused on creating constructive policies that can address problems persisting in the international adoption process.
The announcement is very likely to revive public discourse on the abuse of adopted Russian children in the United States. The timing is not coincidental as a new wave of blameful declamations is preceding the upcoming presidential election in Russia. Once again Russian authorities seek to use old tools and practices in strengthening national unity by pitting ‘us’ – Russians against ‘them’- foreigners via offensive adoption rhetoric.
The situation was different in July 2011, when Secretary Hilton and Russian FM Lavrov signed a bilateral agreement on adoptions that was prepared and agreed upon in a relatively short period of time. Supporters marked the event as another success of the U.S. -Russia ‘reset’ and also praised the willingness and ability of both countries to successfully resolve this long-standing issue. The agreement, that was designed to provide protection to the rights and interests of both adoptive parents and children, is awaiting ratification. Yet, the downturn in the countries’ relations has brought the matter under review.
Proponents of the moratorium cite the U.S. failure to improve the welfare of adopted Russian children as the main reason for a possible adoption ban. Although the ban would not threaten the bilateral agreement directly, it could suspend adoptions, while the prospects for ratification remain vague.
Banning adoption of Russian children by U.S. families is intended to prevent high profile parental neglect from repeating itself, but it would also destroy prospects for many orphans to find a family. It primarily concerns children who have not been adopted by Russian citizens due to specific medical and psychological issues. Often foreign adoptive parents adopt children with psychological and medical issues; children, that have not been adopted by Russian citizens, unless they possess educational and financial resources to do so. With even a temporary adoption ban, the chances to find a family would decrease for many of these children.
Meanwhile, the public discourse of foreign adoption does not move beyond pointing blame, neither does it explore the innermost reasons for failed adoption practices. Consequently, it serves to shape negative perceptions, not constructive and result-oriented policies.
The instances of adoptions with less than desirable outcomes are directly related to the mismanagement of the adoption process, including poor evaluation of parental adoptive abilities, for instance, high expectations, misunderstanding of adoption challenges; and also incomplete disclosure of medical and social information about the child, as well as the lack of quality communication with the child in the pre-adoption period.
These are just a few but very important issues that are rarely mentioned in adoption discourse, as it remains focused on emphasizing negative perceptions, not finding solutions to the problem. Meanwhile, media-promoted public discourse on international adoption serves as a very effective pre-election tool that conveniently diverts attention from the existing everyday problems. It serves to create an ‘outside enemy,’ while seeking to bolster unity among Russian people and to position Vladimir Putin as a strong leader of the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ community.
