[girldragonfly]

My husband and I in the process of adopting from Russia. Since we are pretty early on in the paperwork process I was wondering if someone could share with us the differences in the various regions.

[kretzklan]

Regions change very quickly - your agency would be the best place to start for that info. There are some that are known to move quickly, but it can turn on a dime (or one certain case)! Good luck with your process!

[votemom]

you can *kind of* compare russia's regions to our states. some laws are the same for all of them, but some are unique.

some regions are very "adoption-friendly", while others are not.

some regions move the process along relatively smoothly and quickly, while others are quite arduous.

and like kretz said, the status of what regions are positive, changes.

your best bet is to do lots of reading on message boards like this to get a feel for what the climate is in the various regions, and to press your agency for the status of the regions they are currently working in.

russian adoption has been much easier in the past, but that doesn't mean it's impossible now. there are always challenges with international adoption. russia is russia - they change the rules and the processes constantly and without warning sometimes. you really can't COUNT on any of the requirements staying the same. they may change what you have to do once you are almost to the finish line. there's nothing you can do about, except to hang on for dear life and stay optimistic.

it may not be quite as daunting as i'm making it sound, but it IS challenging and your patience and stress will be tested.

i think the hardest part is that we like to feel we are in control. but, like much in life, being in control is an illusion (or, delusion!)

i'll end by saying that we adopted from the region called samara, and had a VERY positive experience and very smooth process.

good luck to you as you start your journey!!

[girldragonfly]

Thank you for giving me so much information. I have been spending a lot of time on line and getting more familiar with the regions as we speak. I have to say though that the whole FAS has us scared straight. We have friends that adopted in Kazakstan (spelled right?) and they said it was not an issue there due to their religion. I can be prepared for anything but didn't realize how terrifying and exciting adoption can be.

[votemom]

i haven't heard that about kaz, but perhaps some who have adopted from there will comment on the FAS stats for that country.

[mcanvasback]

Welcome to the terrifying, exciting, wonderful world of IA! It can be a heartbreaking and grueling journey but the payoff is huge!

I actually adopted from Kyrgyzstan which is a tiny country just south of Kaz. My daughter's orphanage was less than one mile from the border and we processed out of the US Embassy in Almaty (Kaz). The countries are similar in ethnicity (the people look similar) and culture. Kyrg is almost totally without resources unlike Kaz, and as a result is very poor. They are both Muslim countries and you will hear that there is very little alcohol use because of this. You will also hear that this is untrue, and as former Soviet Republics, the alcohol use is similar to Russia. It is so hard to generalize but what I observed is somewhere in the middle. There is definitely alcohol use. I saw it. But the orphanages in Kaz have a wonderful reputation for being clean and well equipped with nurturing caregivers. As far as I know the kids are really healthy. (Not to mention beautiful, not that I am biased )

Kyrgyzstan is unfortunately closed at the moment but again, from all that I know the kids are great. My daughter and all the kids that came home around the same time (summer/fall 06)are healthy, adorable, well adjusted and thriving.

To sum up - no two adoption experiences are the same -but I would highly recommend Central Asia!

Here is a link I like:

http://www.kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/adopt_index.htm

If you would like more info please PM me. There are a few on this board who have adopted from Kaz, who will respond if they see this post. If you would like the name of my agency, who started the Kyrg program and works in Kaz, let me know.

Here is a picture of my daughter at referral and recently(any excuse to post a pic!)

Good luck!

[lovestruck]

Hi,
I was a former PAP in the Russian program and ended up adopting from Kaz in 2007. I spent a lot of time in the orphanage in Kaz with the children.

The health of the children in Kaz was over all very good, but there are also healthy children in Russia.

There is FAS in Russia and also in Kaz. Yes, due to being a predominately Muslim country it is lower, but it is still there.

I adopted a beautiful, healthy Russian baby from Kaz and saw many healthy Asian and Russian children as well as some who were not.

I love Kaz, it has beautiful healthy children, both Asian and Russian however no matter what country you adopt from, go in with your eyes open. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

I would be happy to talk to you about Kazakhstan further if you are interested. In Kaz you actually spend time in the orphanages bonding with your child, as well as other families and the children they are bonding with. I actually spent all of my bonding time in the group room my daughter was in so I saw first hand the care that the children received as well as all the children in her group. Out of the 12 babies in her group, I would have said that one of them potentially had the features of FAS and I can think of two others in the other rooms that I visited while there. None of the 14 families that were bonding with children while I was there were bonding with children that had "obvious" FAS features. Of course I can only say that based on their features and nothing else.

I have attached a current picture of my beautiful healthy Kaz/Russian princess.

[mcanvasback]

So good to hear from you lovestruck! Sadie is beautiful!

To the OP just FYI- I originally started in Russia also.

[lovestruck]

Pieceofmyheart,
I thought that was you. I haven't been here in ages, a little bird thought I might could lend some info on kaz. I need to stop by more, I miss you guys.

Bella has gotten so big and as beautiful as ever! Glad to you see you, Angelkisses, and votemom along with some other "oldies" still here giving input and support!

[angelkisses0102]

Lovestruck...so glad I checked this thread...you DD is so adorable! Glad to 'see' you here!

OP~
FAS or at least alcohol exposure is common in EE...in all honesty it should be assumed. But...not all kids who are exposed have full blown FAS...some will have almost no issues and some will be severely impacted. Some will have facial features and function fine...some will have no facial features and be low functioning. You just need to be prepared for the worst case scenario and also decide if Russia/EE is right for you...because for some families...it's not. I'm not trying to scare you...but you must go in with your eyes wide open.

I can say with much certainty my DD was probably not even exposed to alcohol...for my DS...I'll never know...but still assume he was. Although many of the issues he's struggled with that I thought may be alcohol related have recently been uncovered to be related to his juvenile rheumatoid arthrits (he was just diagnosed in April of this year.) I would adopt again from Russia...if we could afford it!