Letters to the Editor

Pushkin’s Birthday

To the Editors:

Two magazine issues ago, you mentioned that next year, 1999, a celebration would be held for the poet Pushkin's 200th anniversary in Moscow.  In the next issue, you could you please be more specific with the dates and the type of celebration that will be had?

Thanks!

Shirley Bolin

Kissimmee, FL

Shirley: We do not have any information yet about the specific events that will surely be taking place in Moscow (and in other cities) next year, though it will be an entire year of activities. But we will publish specific information as it becomes available, in our newly reconfigured Practical Traveler department. -- The Editors

Adopting Russians

To the Editors:

Your article in the June/July issue on adopting from Russia was well balanced and one of the better articles I have read on this subject.

I am the adoptive father of three wonderful Russian children, who are extremely happy to be part of our family. They learned English very quickly and have adapted very well to their new environment. They would disagree very strongly with the Duma deputy who was quoted as saying that "It is better for Russian orphans to eat cockroaches from Russian rubbish heaps than to eat their 60 types of sausage."

In reference to the comments by Dr. John K. Smith: we know many families who have adopted children from Russia. Among these are children with cerebral palsy and a variety of other physical problems. Our own adopted son, Ilya, is inflicted with rickets.

Most agencies do not permit their clients to shop in Russia "as if they were going into Walmart." They offer their clients referrals based on the characteristics of the family and what sorts of "special needs" they might be able to handle.

No one can tell Sonya, Sasha, or Ilya that American adoption of Russian children is not a good thing. Nor for that matter can they convince the rest of our family. If anything, it is too good. These adoptions are so good for everyone involved that someone will feel it necessary to stop them, whether because of nationalism or jealousy. Anyone who truly cares for these children will do everything in their power to give them good homes (whether in Russia or America).

Steve Hughes

Victorville, CA

To the Editors:

This is in response to your article ... Adopting from Russia ... Unfortunately, the article did not include the perception of the foreign born adoptee ...

In 1957, I was “rescued” out of a German orphanage by American parents, one of thousands of German children adopted by US citizens during the 1950s-1970s ...

^{International adoption is fraught with difficulties arising from different cultural values and relationships regarding access to one’s roots, contacts with birth families and ties to the country of origin.}

International adoption isn’t the answer to improving the overall plight of children in economically deprived or war-torn nations. The movement of children across international borders represents only a tiny faction of the neglected, abused and abandoned children in these countries. And what about the children who are not adopted and left behind? The system does nothing to solve the causes of international adoption -- high birth rates and poverty.

International adoption is viewed by most Americans as a solution for families needing children, rather than children needing families ... Children available for adoption in the United States are being bypassed in favor of foreign children. At any given time, one-million American children live on the streets while hundreds-of-thousands languish without a permanent family in the foster care system.

Those who desire to help children in foreign countries have alternatives to international adoption. The United Nations Children’s Fund and World Vision are two organizations with child sponsorship programs providing resources so that countries can gain the means to care for their own children.

I applaud the Duma’s actions in preventing foreigners from adopting Russian children. Russia can turn its considerable talents and resources toward helping Russian children, while America solves its own child welfare problems ...

^{Puyallup, WA}

Missing Map

To the Editors,

As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed this issue. The article on Saratov calls to mind that Chapel Hill and Saratov are sister cities. There must be many such pairings, but an article on some of the more successful would be of interest ... The article on Ferapontov was fascinating, but a little frustrating. The map on p age 37 would have been even more useful if `X marks the spot' of the monastery and also of its neighbor St. Kirill Belozersky. Some of the features described lovingly were not visible in the excellent photos, e.g. the front facade of the Nativity Church. The picture on p. 40 refers to the square bell tower, but the only thing square I can see is the base of the Annunciation church?

eep up the good work - otlichno!

Jim Stasheff

Lansdale PA

^{Jim: While we can’t do anything about the photos, the map was printed incorrectly, without indicating the location of Ferapontov. See the corrected map at right. -- The Editors}

Not Better Red

To the Editors:

The comment in the letter from Harry Schulte in the May 1998 issue that there is nothing inherently wrong with communism cannot go unchallenged. What is inherently wrong with communism is that it is counter to human nature to work hard if it does not directly benefit oneself. Communism severs the link between one's actions and their consequences. If all people had the exact same work ethic, it might work, but that is not the case. People who work hard will resent those who do not if they are both rewarded equally, and the hard workers will eventually stop working hard. If someone is paid the same wages regardless of work output, why work hard? That is why, unless the authoritarian government can forever continue to motivate its population with moralistic pep talks, such a system will eventually decline.

Only in a society of free enterprise can the talents of a people be fully realized. And I fully expect to be amazed by the future accomplishments of the free Russian people.

Nicholas Kyriazi

Pittsburgh, PA