SIMFEROPOL, May 15 (RIA Novosti) – Authorities in Russia’s Crimea have temporarily suspended the adoption of children by foreigners, the Crimean Ministry of Education, Science and Youth said.
“The Ministry of Education, Science and Youth is currently working on arranging papers on children deprived from parental care and transferring the documents to the State Database. Adoption of orphans and children deprived of parental guardianship has been temporally suspended,” the ministry’s press office said.
Under Russian law, a child can be adopted by foreigners one year following the entry of his or her information into the State Database of Orphans and Children Deprived from Parental Care.
In January 2013, the Dima Yakovlev Law banning US adoptions went into effect in Russia. It was named after a 21-month-old Russian boy who died of heatstroke in July 2008 after his American adoptive father left him in the back seat of his car for nine hours.
Crimea and Sevastopol, which has a special status within the region, became subjects of the Russian Federation on March 21 following the referendums.
