NEWSLINK: Russian lawmakers back adoption ban in row with U.S.

[Russian lawmakers back adoption ban in row with U.S. – Reuters – Alissa de Carbonnel – December 21, 2012 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/21/russia-adoptions-idUSL5E8NL4FK20121221]

Reuters covers the Duma’s support for a ban on U.S. citizens adopting Russian children, as well as a ban on U.S. nonprofits funding Russian democratization nonprofits, in retaliation for Congressional efforts to hold Russian human rights abusers accountable:

Russia’s lower house of parliament approved a law banning Americans from adopting Russian children on Friday, in retaliation for U.S. human rights legislation which Vladimir Putin says is poisoning relations.

The State Duma overwhelmingly backed a bill which also outlaws U.S.-funded “non-profit organizations that engage in political activity”, extending what critics say is a clampdown on Putin’s opponents since he returned to the presidency in May.

The law responds to U.S. legislation known as the Magnitsky Act, passed by the U.S. Congress to impose visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials accused of involvement in the death in custody of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009.

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In a debate peppered with patriotic rhetoric reminiscent of the Cold War, deputies described foreign adoptions as an embarrassment, implying Russia could not care for its own.

The law was backed by 420 deputies and opposed by only seven in the 450-seat chamber. Its easy passage reflected a growing conservatism in society since Putin’s return of the presidency.

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But critics say the new move will deprive children stuck in orphanages the chance of growing up in the care of families.

Having passed the state Duma, the bill will now go before the Russian Senate and President Vladimir Putin, who apparently supports it.

Americans adopted 962 Russian orphans in 2011, and a total of more than 45,000 since 1991.  For Americans  adopting orphans internationally, the top three countries of origin are Ethiopia, China and Russia.

Aspects of the bill banning U.S. funding for nonprofits engaged in political activities could shut down some nonprofits completely, such as Golos, while also shutting out at least one prominent NGO leader with dual citizenship, Lyudmila Alexeyeva.  Real or alleged fears of foreign-backed color revolutions apparently are one motivation:

Some prominent non-governmental organizations will be threatened with closure as the law bans U.S.-sponsored political NGOs from working in Russia. Russians who also hold U.S. passports will be unable to lead such groups.

Russian human rights activists said the latter provision specifically targeted veteran campaigner Lyudmila Alexeyeva, 85, a Soviet-era dissident who leads the Moscow Helsinki Group.

“Alexeyeva is the face of our human rights movement,” human rights activists Lev Ponomaryov told Reuters. “The Duma members just showed what angry, evil creatures they are.”

Activists say the main target of tougher rules is Golos, a group that receives foreign funding and compiled allegations of fraud in 2011 parliamentary elections and the March presidential vote.

But they fear that vague wording in the law means it will be applied to groups as wide ranging as veteran Russian rights group Memorial and the Moscow Helsinki Group.

Putin has accused the United States of stoking protest against his nearly 13-year rule and Russia ordered the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to halt its work in the country in October.

Russian officials say they fear foreign powers will use non-profit groups to bring about the type of street protests that toppled governments in Georgia and Ukraine.

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