I picked up an interesting piece on adoption today from Newslab, a Russian wire service that focuses on news in Sibera. The news it reported is both bad and good.

The story says that 34 children were adopted by foreign citizens in the region of Krasnoyarsk for 2007, down from 180 for 2006 and 168 for 2005. That is, unfortunately pretty much in keeping with the larger nationwide slowdown in inter-country adoptions, which I wrote about back in December when I... more

If you've read this blog for a while, you know that I'm a big fan of adopting Russia's older children. But a new program in Novosibirsk is pushing older adoption to the limit. According to Russia Today, the Siberian city is testing out a plan to have local families adopt its senior citizens.

Typically, the report says, Russia's elderly would live with their children and grandchildren. But apparently some either... more

If you live or work in New York City and you want to get involved in a new philanthropic effort for Russia's orphans, head to the Times Square area today or Saturday.

St. Malachy's Church/Actors' Chapel Square is hosting a two-day exhibition and sale of art work created by orphans in Saratov. The church is located at 239 W. 49th, which is between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. The exhibit will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. There will be a piano concert from... more

Where is it? Smolensk Oblast, or region, is located on the western-most edge of the European side of Russia. It is bordered by Belarus to the west and the oblasts of Pskov, Tver and Moscow to the north. Kaluga oblast is to the east and Bryansk oblast is on its southeastern border. Smolensk is in the Moscow time zone .

What's the biggest city?... more

Where is it? Ryazan Oblast, or region, is located in the center of the European side of Russia, southeast of Moscow Oblast. It is also bordered by the oblasts of Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Tambov, Lipetsk and Tula, and the Republics of Mordovia. Ryazan is in the Moscow time zone .

What's the biggest city? Ryazan, which accounts for 535,000 of the region's 1.2 million people, according to the 2002 census. Kasimov, Sasovo, Skopin and Ryazhsk are its other large cities. The city of Ryazan is more than 900 years old, making it one of the oldest in Russia. The oldest extant parts... more

When I first visited Russia more than 20 years ago, I don’t think I could have spent $1,000 there if I had stayed a month. Now, you can blow that in a day. Or maybe in an hour.

Want proof? Check out the October issue of Departures magazine. It is devoted entirely to Russia.

For $1,000 in the new Russia you could have lunch with six friends at the Central House of Writers (which was an orphanage early in the 20th century, according to Departures), or dine with six friends at Moscow's Café Pushkin (both... more

When I was writing about Irkutsk oblast earlier this month, I noted that the region includes Lake Baikal, the world's largest and deepest lake. This lake has so captured the world's imagination that there are more than 10,000 images tagged with "Baikal" on Flickr.com.

Unfortunately, however, Lake Baikal has also captured its share of pollution, and the environmental threat to the lake is chronicled in a new book, "Sacred... more

There's an interesting piece in today's New York Times about the Solovetsky Islands, an area rich in Russian religious and political history.

The six islands, which are also known as Soloviki, are part of Arkhangelsk oblast, which I wrote about a few weeks back.

Six hundred years ago, the islands became the home... more

Where is it? Irkutsk Oblast is located in southwestern Siberia. It is bordered by the republics of Buryat, Tuva and Sakha, Krasnoyarsk Krai and Chita Oblast. The world's deepest lake, Lake Baikal, is located in the Irkutsk region. Irkutsk is in its own time zone, which is five hours ahead of Moscow.

What's the biggest city? Irkutsk, which accounts for 593,000 of the region's 2.6 million people, according to... more

Where is it? The Chuvash Republic is smack in the center of the European side of Russia, about 400 miles east of Moscow. It is bordered by the republics of Mari El and Tatarstan, and the regions of Nizhny Novgorod, Mordovia and Ulyanovsk. It is in the Moscow time zone. It is called a republic and it has its own president, but Chuvashia, as it is also... more