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