Notebook

Russia has ratified an agreement with the U.S. that tightens restrictions on Americans adopting Russian children. For months, the adoption of Russian children by U.S. families has come to a virtual standstill due to a series of shocking incidents.

Cases of abuse of Russian adoptees in the U.S. are a hot topic in the Russian media. The latest scandal involved foster parents from Wisconsin who in August were charged with 17 counts of child abuse against their six adopted children, three of whom are Russian-born.

The new agreement clarifies legal differences between the two countries (for example in Russia same-sex marriage is not allowed, so Russia prohibits adoption by same-sex couples, even in states where such unions are legal). Russia also demanded that adopting couples be more closely monitored and that children only be given up for foreign adoption after every effort has been made to find a Russian family for the child.