A court case in Virginia that ended in a not guilty verdict for a man accused of killing his adopted Russian child prompted the speaker of the Russian parliament to call for restrictions on adoptions by foreigners, according to a December 18, 2008 report by UCSJ's Moscow bureau. Boris Gryzlov commented on the acquittal of the Virginia man, who left his adopted child in a car on a hot day, by employing pseudo-scientific, almost racist language. "Russian children shoud stay in Russia, this topic should worry us," the speaker said. "Why do foreigners adopt them? Because they genetically are heathier, more clever etc. than in the other countries."

Russia has a major problem with abandoned children, many of whom live in appalling conditions of neglect.

[HOME] [ACT] [CONNECT] [JOIN] [ABOUT] [SEARCH]