Pundits Believes US Adoption Ban Will Damage Russia’s Reputation Abroad

Russian Orphanage file photo

(RIA Novosti – December 28, 2012)

Russian experts believe that the law, signed by President Vladimir Putin on 28 December, which bans the adoption of Russian children by US nationals, is unlikely to cause widespread protests in the country but will damage Russia’s reputation in the world. The so-called Dima Yakovlev law will come into force on 1 January 2013.

Experts

“This will not become a cause for widespread protests but will probably be one of those constant reproaches to the authorities and might, of course, have a negative impact on Russia’s international reputation – not because the law is tough, but because this is strange logic, let’s put it this way, in response to the Magnitskiy Act,” political analyst Mikhail Remizov told RIA Novosti.

In his view, if the opposition continues to focus on the subject, “this will be something like the Pussy Riot case – indignation is contained inside rather narrow circles, but the more attention is given to this topic, the more it moves away from people masses, from broad social groups”.

According to leading expert at the Centre of the Political Environment (Tsentr Politicheskoy Konyunktury) Dmitriy Abzalov, there will be no protests over the law and after the New Year holidays the topic will be difficult to raise again.

“The decision has been taken. It is unlikely that there will be some massive public protests. The first information wave will subside and after the holiday period, with its traditional lull in the media, it is unlikely that the subject will generate the same level of interest,” Abzalov said.

A majority of Russians support the the Dima Yakovlev law. Moreover, the law will lead to important changes in the promotion of domestic adoption, the analyst said. More than half of Russians (56 per cent) polled by the Public Opinion Foundation support the ban on the adoption of Russian orphans by US citizens, POF director Aleksandr Oslon said earlier.

“A large part of the population, the largest group of voters support the law. Public opinion, in electoral terms, is on the side of the president,” Abzalov said.

By signing the Dima Yakovlev law, Putin responded to his opponents’ challenges and showed that the Russian government cannot be easily influenced from the outside, director-general of the Centre for Political Information Aleksey Mukhin said.

“I think Vladimir Putin was very well aware of what he was doing when he signed the bill. And he was well aware of the consequences. Maybe he is not looking for easy ways and shows his independence in political decisions … But I think he was motivated by his wish to show that nobody can influence the Russian government, even by angrily stomping their foot. In effect, it was this public outcry that pushed Vladimir Putin to sign the law. He did this out of principle,” Mukhin said.

“I think nothing terrible will happen, but nonetheless, this law might be used in future to discredit Russia’s top authorities. This is a weak spot in Putin’s reputation and his critics will use it in full,” Mukhin said.

The Dima Yakovlev law will damage Russia’s reputation in the world, editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Affairs magazine Fedor Lukyanov told radio Ekho Moskvy.

“From a formal point of view, the law signed by Putin lies within Russia’s sovereign rights. However, linking political revenge with such a delicate and sensitive issue as the fate of orphans causes surprise and disgust in the world,” he said.

Lukyanov also said that the law would significantly worsen “the atmosphere of relations” between the USA and Russia.

Human rights officials

The head of the Presidential Human Rights Council, Mikhail Fedotov told Interfax he “deeply regrets” the fact that Putin did not see the council’s letter outlining flaws in the law before signing it. “I hope that it will eventually reach him and the head of state will take note of our proposals concerning the flaws in the law. It is never too late to fix them,” he said.

Putin’s press secretary Dmitriy Peskov said the Human Rights Council’s resolution on the anti-Magnitskiy Law had been taken into account when Putin signed the law.

“The president took into account all points of view while signing the document,” Peskov said, as quoted by RIA Novosti agency.

Head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseyeva told Interfax that she would appeal against law to the Russian Constructional Court, and to the European Court of Human Rights “if our Constitutional Court turns out to be too dependant to take a normal decision”.

The law will also prohibit foreign nationals from being leaders or even members of Russian political NGOs. Alekseyeva, a US citizen, said she “will under no circumstances step down as the head of Moscow Helsinki Group”. She added that the law “serves no honour” for Russia.

Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin has criticized the Dima Yakovlev law and believes that it will be challenged in the Constitutional Court.

“My view of the law has not changed. In my view, the law is illiterate, it contains a large number of legal uncertainties and in some parts its compliance with the Constitution and other laws of the Russian Federation is questionable,” Lukin told Interfax.

“I will not be surprised if the Constitutional Court spends a lot of time on this law,” Lukin said.

Russian ombudsman for children’s rights Pavel Astakhov welcomed the signing of the law and the decree on strengthening support for orphans.

“These are important documents that should be the first step in the implementation of the global strategy Russia Without Orphans,” Astakhov said.

He once again supported a total ban on international adoption. “We need to get rid of this; otherwise we will continue to wait that somebody will come and help us,” Astakhov said.

Astakhov added that after the signing of the Dima Yakovlev law special attention would be given to children who would be unable to travel to the USA because of it. “Regional governors will be personally responsible that all these children are taken care of first of all,” he added.

Astakhov, who had said earlier that the 46 children whose adoption by US nationals had already been agreed would go abroad, said that would not happen. The orphans, most of whom already know their potential mothers and fathers in the USA, will remain in Russia. According to media reports, many of them are seriously disabled, afflicted with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and other serious diseases.

According to the programme Russia Without Orphans, in the next five to seven years all children’s homes should be closed down in the country, with the exception of specialized establishments, and all orphans should be found adoptive families.

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