Russian Search Registries

Originally Posted By Damsel PlumHi there,Russia, like the U.S., keeps records of all births, deaths, marriages and divorces. Most people will have a record of birth filed in the local vital records office. Orphanages also keep records, as do hospitals. Russians love papers, record-keeping, bureaucracy. There have been stories of people adopting in Russia and being promised that original birth records would be destroyed. This may or may not be the case depending on whether the person making this promise actually has access to those records. Some people adopting from abroad have also been known to deliberately change birthdates on amended birth certificates, ostensibly to account for discrepancies from average growth rates. This obfuscatory practice was discussed and discouraged in the July/August 1998 issue of Adoptive Families magazine. ([url="http://www.adoptivefamilies.org"]http://www.adoptivefamilies.org[/url]) (Ref. Adoptive Families Magazine, July/Aug. 1998, pp. 62-63: "Should you change your child's birthdate?" by Brenda Cotter)Out-of-family adoption in Russia is a phenomenon of only the past few decades and it is still considered very much taboo among Russians. When I was studying in the former Soviet Union (1985 - 86) I quickly learned that it was *not* ok to tell people I was adopted. People first assumed that my biological parents and all their family had died and I was left a poor orphan. Um - nope. Saying you are adopted in Russia is the equivalent of saying "I was abandoned" or "my family was a bunch of alcoholics/drug addicts/criminals." This may sound shocking to us, but attitudes were not so different in the U.S. until fairly recently. We all have to work to combat negative stereotypes of adoption.That said, I would be surprised if there were any Russian Reunion Registries. I've done some translation for Tony Vilardi of the International Soundex Reunion Registry who periodically gets requests from Russian war orphans seeking lost kin in the U.S. , but the current wave of Russian adoptees has not yet come of age. One day there may very well be such services in and for Russia. Korean adoptees are now returning to Korea and finding birthfamilies, although their parents were also often told that no records existed for these children. Adoptive parents are often told whatever they want to hear, same with birthparents. I have heard stories from adoptive parents who have adopted in Russia in which they *have* accessed the child's original birth certificate, orphanage and medical records. Again, it depends on what the adoptive parent wants and is willing to pay for. That could also include "proof" that the original documents have been destroyed. As in many nations, bribery is *not* considered taboo in Russia. ;) In most orphanage-based adoption, especially of children with disabilities or with problematic family histories, I would imagine it would not be too hard to access original records, provided their source still exists and the birth date and place have not been changed on the amended birth certificate.In cases where the source of infants (especially healthy younger infants) is unsure, and adoption workers are unable to provide original documentation for the child, sadly, cases of foul play are not all that uncommon. See the United Nations General Assembly 49/101/43 (Session 49, Agenda 101, Report Reference 43). Russia/Eastern European illegal adoption isdiscussed in references 26-32 in that report. [url="http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu4/garep/478a49.htm"]http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu4/garep/478a49.htm[/url]For more in-depth personal experience with Russian Adoption , you may want to try the Russian adoption email list. They have over 1900 subscribers. Details follow:* A-PARENT-RUSS: To Subscribe: Send an email message to: ReqAPR@eeadopt.ORG. In the message body put the following line: SUBSCRIBE A-PARENT-RUSS [FirstName LastName]. Listowner: Cynthia Teeters (cynthia@eeadopt.org) URL: [url="http://eeadopt.org"]http://eeadopt.org[/url] Description: The A-PARENT-RUSS mailing list is for parents who are either interested in adopting or have adopted children from Russia or from one of the republics that used to be part of the former Soviet Union. Others who are sympathetic to the problems and issues that these parents are facing are also welcome. They currently have over 1,900 members.You can also try Families for Russian & Ukrainian Adoption at [url="http://frua.org/"]http://frua.org/[/url]Hope this is of some assistance.Damsel

it is now 2017, do you think i could find adoption records in tula, russia from 1988 thu 1999?