Where is it? Ivanovo Oblast, or region, is located in western Russia, northeast of Moscow. It is bordered by Kostroma Oblast, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Vladimir Oblast, and Yaroslavl Oblast, and the Volga River flows through the northern part of the region. It is in the Moscow time zone, and you can find the current local time here.

What's the biggest city? Ivanovo, which has... more

Early this month, Rebecca at the Viet Nam Adoption Blog had a solid, sensible post on five basic steps to talk to your child about adoption. They are the framework for discussion in my house, too. But we've been having an interesting conversation recently that I'd like to share with you, in a somewhat paraphrased form.

My older son has known for a long time that I picked him, and we have a somewhat fanciful story about what it was about him that compelled... more

Last week's post on the startling death rate among Russian men from drinking alcohol not meant to be a beverage struck a chord with many readers. And it made me realize that I have not lived up to an early promise I made to this blog, which was to explore the impact of Russia's alcohol troubles on adoption. Yes, there are problems: Even President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that in his speeches. But concerns about the impact of a birth mother's drinking on her... more

If there is one sight you can count on seeing no matter where your Russian adoption journey takes you, it is a Russian Orthodox church. There has been a huge resurgence in religion since the demise of the Soviet Union, and Russians have poured a lot of energy into restoring, rebuilding and building churches from scratch.

Some will be small, like the boxlike, two-room church near my younger son's orphanage on Sakhalin Island. Some will be huge and magnificent, like the... more

Last week, Aeroflot grabbed the aviation news spotlight with a big order from Boeing. This week, it was Sukhoi's turn. The jet maker, which until recently made only military aircraft, won the first foreign customer for its civilian Superjet 100. Italian regional carrier Itali Airlines agreed to buy 20 of the jets, which are built to compete against Embraer and Bombardier in the mid-size... more

Last week, I took a look at a new study about why alcoholism is killing Russian men. But Russia is also grappling with another big medical problem, and there's been a surprising amount of reporting on it in the last week: HIV.

The human immunodeficiency virus, as most people know, causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS. The World Health Organization has estimated that more than 25 million people around the world have died of AIDS since it was identified... more

Yes I've heard the rumors--paperwork on several adoption agencies has been approved by the four key ministries and they are waiting for the Ministry of Education and Science to issue their re-accreditations. I've even tried to confirm that the e-mail circulating on the chat boards that purported to come from the head of one adoption agency was actually sent by that agency. I'm waiting for a call back.

So now what? Folks, I hate to say it, but we just have to keep on doing what we've been doing: wait. Because the slowdown in adoptions in Russia... more

Where is it? Vologda Oblast is a region in northwestern Russia. It borders on the regions of Arkhangelsk, Kirov, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Tver, Novgorod and Leningrad, as well as the Republic of Karelia. It is in the same time zone as Moscow. You can find the current local time here.

What's the biggest city? Cherepovets, which is located about... 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 needed a break from a tech magazine story I was writing tonight and my channel surfing landed me on a great program about Russia that I hadn't seen in a long time.

The History Channel's affiliate, History International, is re-running its excellent 2003 series Russia: Land of the Tsars. It traces the history of Russian rulers from Prince Vladimir through the last of the Romanovs. If you have... more