Some 56 percent
of Russians support a proposed ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian children, an
opinion poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) said on
Tuesday.
A total of 21
percent of the respondents were against the ban and 23 percent had no
opinion.
Most of the
people surveyed backed tougher requirements for foreigners who want to adopt
Russian children, the poll revealed.
Most of the
respondents also believe that Russian orphans should remain in Russia, FOM
director Alexander Oslon said.
The survey of
1,500 people in 100 cities and towns across 46 Russian regions was conducted
over the weekend.
The ban on U.S.
adoptions was introduced by Russian lawmakers as part of bill responding to the
U.S. Magnitsky Act. It has already been passed in three readings by Russia’s
lower house of parliament and will be considered at a Federation Council session
on Wednesday.
State Duma
lawmakers said the bill was a response to what they called the inaction of U.S.
officials over the deaths of 19 Russian children adopted by Americans since
1999.
Over 45,000
Russian children, including 962 last year, have been adopted by U.S. families in
that period, according to the U.S. State Department. RIA
Novosti
Russian
officials, including President Vladimir Putin have harshly criticized the U.S.
Magnitsky Act, legislation designed to punish Russian officials allegedly
involved in human rights violation. Reuters Russia says the
United States uses human rights as a pretext for meddling in the affairs of
sovereign states around the world. The Huffington Post Representative
Ron Paul, who was a presidential candidate from the Republican Party, has
described the Magnitsky bill as provocative interference into Russia’s internal
affairs. RIA Novosti About 45,000
Russian children have been adopted by Americans since 1999, according to State
Department records, but after reaching a peak of 5,862 in 2004, the numbers have
declined steeply, to 962 in 2011. Denver Post More than
650,000 children are living without parental supervision in Russia, according to
statistics maintained by the Ministry of Education and Science, with more than
500,000 in foster care and more than 100,000 in orphanages. NY
Times
AHT/ARA
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