Well, I'm not sure what to call what happened in Russia yesterday.

In a nutshell, President Vladimir Putin announced he was running for the December parliamentary elections and hinted that he could be prime minister after his term as president expires next year. The announcement was made at a convention of the pro-Putin United Russia party and, according to this report in The New York Times, it was a masterpiece of political... more

Russia's new prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, got off to a strong start in his new job even as the head of Russia's upper house of parliament was indicating Zubkov could be a candidate for another job.

According to news reports, Zubkov made a trip to Penza oblast, warned the governor of Arkhangelsk oblast that economic development in the region wasn't keeping pace and wagged a finger at Russian banks for not lending enough to industry. But the week got off on an interesting foot when Reuters... more

Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov finally unveiled his new government--and it looks a lot like the government of his predecessor, Mikhail Fradkov.

Here's who's back: Most importantly for those of you waiting to complete an adoption in Russia, Andrei Alexandrovich Fursenko, minister of education and science. Fursenko has held that post since May 2004, and it is good to see him back in charge of this key ministry. Minister of the Internal Affairs Rashid Gumarovich Nurgaliyev is also back. A former KGB officer, he has also held his current post since May 2004.

But it... more

How did I miss this one?

In mid-July, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty ran a story about Russia's efforts to find more families interested in domestic adoption. It is an eye-opener, both for what it reveals about Russian attitudes toward adoption and for how the domestic adoption process differs from inter-country adoption. And somehow, it didn't make it onto my radar screen until this morning.

I was only on my first cup of coffee when I clicked on the... more

No word yet on the composition of the new Russian government, but President Vladimir Putin, speaking at an economic forum in Sochi, said it would be announced "soon". The only one who may definitely be out is Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who reportedly handed in his resignation on Tuesday because he is the son-in-law of the new prime minister, Viktor Zubkov. Speaking of Zubkov, hegave ministers in the old cabinet... more

Since former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and his entire government resigned last week, there's been a lot of buzz on Russian adoption chat boards and blogs about what exactly is going on over there.

Some of the confusion is quite understandable. We in America are used to have a White House official or cabinet member resign from time to time. But we only have a complete housecleaning when a new presidential term begins. Having an entire cabinet resign mid-stream isn't quite such a foreign idea... more

I suppose we were just about due for one of those conversation-in-a-car conversations.

We were riding north, to check out a farm market that I had heard carried locally raised produce, poultry and pork. Since I read Barbarba Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" at the start of the summer, we've been moving steadily toward a more "locavore" diet. For those of you unfamiliar with this term, it means eating food raised or produced within 100 miles of where you live. The thinking goes that it makes... more

Small World Adoption Foundation of Missouri has been re-accredited! The decree is dated September 12, and was posted to the Ministry of Education's Web site today.

President Vladimir Putin's choice for a new prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, was easily confirmed by Russia's lower house of parliament on Friday. Its approval had been expected. The entire government of former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov ... more

Just when everything was beginning to look rosy in Russian adoption comes this: The entire government of President Vladimir Putin resigned today. Yes, that includes Andrei Aleksandrovich Fursenko, the minister of education, and the heads of all the ministries on which we have all been hanging our hopes for a swift resolution of the re-accreditation mess. The move, which came at his request according to news sources, paves the way for a fresh government ahead of the December legislative elections and perhaps an answer to the question of who will succeed Putin in the presidential elections... more

Post placement report number three has come and gone. Well almost: Our social worker came to the house last week for a visit, but there are a few bits of paperwork and photos that still need to be gathered before everything can be shipped off to Russia.

As I have written before, Russian authorities view the post-placement reports as being as critical--or more--as any piece of paperwork that preceded it in your child's adoption. I have been told, many times during the long, long wait for re-accreditation,... more