Dmitry - The Face of American Adoption from Russian Far East

Look to the left of the photo. There you'll see a young boy named Dmitry, adopted from an orphanage in the Russian Far East before the ban on American adoptions went into place. I've met him on several occasions, as his adoptive parents are family acquaintances. He had a severe eye condition at birth, left untreated in the orphanage. Dmitry now calls Pennsylvania home, with his three American sisters and brother. He's had several corrective eye surgeries since his arrival in the U.S. as a toddler, and his sight prognosis is good. It was amazing to hear tales about his adoption, the small village in which he lived, and the struggle to get him to the U.S. I hope I can convince the family to share photos and more personal details about the process, but they're hesitant to do so for fear of negative comments and hateful backlash on this forum.

I've never understood the foundation for this adoption ban? I believe it stemmed from the death of a Russian boy adopted by Americans but it seems to me that, in reality, children were used as a chess piece in the game of geopolitical warfare. Shameful for any country to behave in such a manner. I recently read that the adoption ban is even more widespread now, prohibiting single people (gay or straight) who live in any country where gay marriage is legal from adopting Russian children. So, this means I'm banned from adopting a Russian child for two reasons - being American and being a single female. ( Read more... )