RUSSIAN MEDIA, OFTEN CRITICAL OF FOREIGN

UNCLAS MOSCOW 001661 DEPT FOR CA/OCS/CI AND EUR/RUS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS CASC KOCI PGOV RS SUBJECT: RUSSIAN MEDIA, OFTEN CRITICAL OF FOREIGN ADOPTIONS, NOW TURNS GAZE TOWARD DOMESTIC ABUSE REFS: A) MOSCOW 368 B) MOSCOW 692 C) MOSCOW 1466 ¶1. SUMMARY: A recent series of news items in the Russian press has cast an introspective spotlight on the perils that Russian children face in orphanages and domestic adoptive families. The media has increasingly drawn public attention to a spate of incidents in recent months in which Russian children have been victims of domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and neglect in orphanages and foster families. After months of persistent Russian media coverage on a handful of tragic international adoption cases, which peaked following the death of a Russian-American adopted child in 2008 (ref A),the recent news stories have injected a degree of balance into the Russian media's portrayal of adopted and foster children. U.S. adoption agencies have downplayed the effect on the political climate for international adoptions in Russia. However, even-handed coverage on the dangers that Russian children face at home has the potential to tilt the public dialogue towards a more balanced approach to foreign adoptions. END SUMMARY. ¶2. Recent Russian concern over the safety of international adoptions, with a focus on U.S. adoptions in particular, intensified with the death of Chase Harrison, an adopted Russian-American who died last July after his father left him in a locked car in Virginia. News of the father's acquittal received prolonged, scathing coverage in the Russian press as politicians clamored for restrictions on international adoptions. The public outcry also had political repercussions; on March 18 the State Duma approved a resolution urging the Russian Government to conclude bilateral agreements on adoptions with the United States and other destination countries for Russian orphans (ref B). The indignation surrounding the Harrison case infused political urgency into Russian government policy to encourage more Russian families to open their homes to orphans through adoption and foster placements (ref C). ¶3. As the Russian government turned its attention to encouraging domestic placements, however, the media has provided a steady flow of graphic reminders of the everyday dangers that Russian children can face at home. In May, the press highlighted two recent incidents of alleged child abuse, applying tabloid headlines about "beaten" children returned home as "used goods". In the Russian city of Tver, a two-year-old girl arrived at the hospital with multiple injuries while authorities searched for her legal guardian. Prosecutors initiated criminal proceedings, suggesting that officials had neglected to carry out required safeguards before placing the child in her foster home. Earlier this spring, another incident generated revulsion when local authorities in the Moscow Region permitted the return of a four year-old boy to his parents shortly after he turned up in a hospital covered with bruises, burn marks, and evidence of head injuries. Authorities were derided for accepting the parents' account that he had simply "fallen down the stairs"; local physicians insisted that his older injuries were indicative of abuse over time. ¶4. One prominent incident in April focused public outrage squarely on a horrific example of mismanagement and neglect at a Russian orphanage in the Sverlovsk region. A regional court acquitted the director of a local orphanage following reports that more than 30 children had been raped while under his staff's care. Media reports mocked the judge's decision by citing the certainty of local law enforcement authorities that the director was fully aware of the violent crimes taking place under his supervision but kept silent for fear of ruining his career. Yet another media story pointed to the callousness and irresponsibility of a Kaliningrad couple that attempted to "cancel" its adoption when they were refused a loan two months after taking custody of the child. ¶5. While the media coverage may be drawing attention to Russia's endemic social ills as potential dangers for orphaned children, some adoption agencies remain skeptical of the impact of these stories on the climate for foreign adoptions. Natasha Shaginian of Happy Families, a New York-based international adoption agency, feels encouraged by the balance in Russian media coverage. She says the stories are promising evidence that the public is looking inward at the country's social problems associated with alcoholism, child neglect, and domestic abuse. Others make the point that these cases are gaining attention simply for their value as tabloid- driven scandal, drawing readers with lurid details of abuse and neglect. Alex Dzurovchik of the Pennsylvania- based International Assistance Group (IAG) downplayed the impact on foreign adoptions, attributing the media coverage to sensationalism rather than to journalistic balance. ¶6. Some observers acknowledge, nonetheless, that as the Russian public becomes more aware of the dangers that orphans face at home, it may also take a more sympathetic and pragmatic view of international adoptions. One of this spring's most widely-publicized stories drew widespread public support for a foreign adoptive family of a Russian child. A 6-year-old girl who had been adopted by a Portuguese couple as an infant was returned to her Russian mother by a Portuguese court. The girl speaks no Russian; her Russian mother had been living in Portugal illegally and was subsequently deported. Television coverage sparked a public outcry by airing footage of the girl crying upon learning that she was adopted and would be returned to her mother in Russia. Media coverage also focused on the Russian mother's alleged alcoholism and abuse; within days, a YouTube clip had generated over 11,000 signatures on a petition calling for the girl's return to Portugal. ¶7. According to Alex Dzurovchik of IAG, the Portugal story could reflect a favorable change in the climate for foreign adoptions. He points to the thousands of online comments by Russian users advocating for the child's return to Portugal as an example of public revulsion over the abusive conditions that children can face in Russian families. While tragic incidents associated with foreign adoptions will always command media interest, he says, instances of abuse in Russian families and orphanages are drawing just as much attention. Natasha Shaginian makes the case that negative media attention on foreign adoptions has been falling recently as instances of domestic abuse have captured public curiosity. Comment -------------- ¶8. The Russian press will undoubtedly cover the painful issues of child abuse and neglect whether they occur in a Russian home or a foreign adoptive family. However, the recent media focus on the failure of Russian authorities to protect the country's most vulnerable citizens may reflect -- or trigger -- increasing public concern and awareness of the dangers confronting Russian children in orphanages and foster care. Such portrayals may produce a public opinion climate that is more balanced and fair- minded when reacting to coverage of rare instances of abuse or neglect of Russian orphans at the hands of foreign adoptive parents. END COMMENT. BEYRLE