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Adoptions of Russian children by foreigners came to a complete halt in 2024, while domestic adoptions continued to decline, the investigative outlet IStories reported Friday, citing Education Ministry data.
Last year marked the first time in at least 15 years that no Russian children were adopted by foreign citizens. The trend has steadily declined since 2012, when Moscow banned U.S. adoptions, and virtually ended after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Only six Russian children were adopted abroad in 2023, and officials reported the closure of all foreign adoption agencies that year.
Russia has further tightened adoption rules, banning adoptions to countries that allow gender reassignment as part of a broader push toward ultra-conservative social policies.
Domestic adoptions have also fallen. IStories reported that adoptions by Russian citizens have declined since 2016, and the number of adopted children returned to foster care has nearly doubled since 2014.
So, too, has the number of Russian families registering as potential foster parents dropped since 2010.
At the start of 2024, around 358,000 children were in Russian foster homes, according to government statistics. Many remain in limbo as Russia considers barring adoptions to “unfriendly” countries, and prospective foreign parents face logistical hurdles traveling to Russia.
