I passed through Lenin Square often when I was in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in 2005. I'd cast a quick eye on the resolute statue of the Communist revolutionary on the way to the business center I used to send e-mails home during my two adoption trips.

But this past Saturday, June 23, Lenin Square got much more than a passing glance. Washington, D.C.-based charity Kidsave International used it as the kick-off point for a march involving 200 children from orphanages on Sakhalin... more

There was an interesting announcement this morning on the Web site of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. Not the one we want to see on accreditation, but one key to the welfare of children in Russia just the same: Russia has given the green light to the building of a fifth SOS Children's Village. The village, which will... more

I don’t know why it is that the key conversations in our family seem to occur in traffic. It's not like we spend a lot of time on the road; I probably have fewer miles on my three-year-old car right now than most families have after 12 months.

But you might remember that my older son, who was adopted from Vladivostok, started asking questions about his birth mother... more

Where is it? Pskov Oblast, or region, is located in the northwest corner of Russia about 12 miles from the border of Estonia. Latvia and Belarus are also on its borders. It is in the same time zone as Moscow.

What's the biggest city? Pskov, which accounts for 202,000 of the region's 760,810 people. Other major cities are Velikie Luki, Ostrov and Nevel.

Who lives here? Overwhelmingly ethnic Russians. Pskov was an independent republic in the Middle Ages, but it was annexed by Moscow... more

Whether you are a prospective adoptive parent needing motivation because Moscow is taking so long to sign off on the re-accreditations or a parent already home needing some inspiration, you'll be in luck this weekend: Dateline NBC is going to re-run a remarkable story on Russian adoption.

Correspondent Keith Morrison's story originally aired last June. It is the story of Lisa and Hythem Salem, "two regular people in an average suburb in America", as Morrison called them. Not... more

Rose Alaimo doesn't know any Russian orphans. She's never been to a Russian orphanage, or even to Russia itself. But all that is going to change this summer--if Rose gets our help. This young woman from Dallas, Pa. wants to spend three weeks volunteering at a Russian orphanage. But she needs to raise money for travel and other expenses. Not much, $1,800, but that's enough to stretch the budget of somebody who's in grad school studying to be a veterinarian.

That was one of the first things to surprise me about Rose, when... more

As I have noted before, Russia has 86 governing subdivisions that are potential locations for an adoption. The 59 agencies that are now seeking accreditation and re-accreditation from the Ministry of Education each operate in only a handful of these regions. I've given you five tips on choosing a region once you have selected your agency.

But there's a lot more to learn about Russia's regions. Not only for the prospective parents now waiting... more

One week ago today, Brenda and Robert Matthey heard their fate. They merited much more jail time than they got, but it was the best that the our legal system could devise. Now it is time to think about the legacy of the Russian child that they did not care for.

Brenda and Robert Matthey are a couple from southern New Jersey who adopted three boys from Russia in December 1999. Less than one year later, the oldest of the three boys, Viktor,... more

I wrote this morning about the surprise visit of a senior Russian adoption official, Alina Levitskaya. But I wanted to come back to some of the other points made by Ms. Levitskaya in her meeting with The National Council for Adoption because I think they can help us form a clearer picture of what is, and isn't happening in Russian adoptions right now.

According to NCFA staffer Lee Allen, Ms. Levitskaya said that adoptions of Russian children by Russian families are increasing.... more

As a single, working mom of two, I have a long to-do list of things that don't get done.

But when I was working on a reorganization of the basement the other day, I came across the box of materials I had put aside for my younger son's life book. There was the journal I kept during my two trips to Sakhalin Island in 2005, and copies of all the e-mails I had sent or received while I was away. There were photos, but I am not the world's best with a camera and most of the time during my trips I was playing with my son, not taking his... more