This article from the BBC caught my attention. It is certainly true that most orphans in Russia have parents: 90% of them are social orphans, but I don’t think the coersion is as prevalent there as it seems to be in other places. Here’s a snippet of the article:

A new report says that at least four out of five children in orphanages around the world have a living parent.

The charity Save the Children says some institutions coerce or trick poor parents to give up their children.

As a result, the report says, millions of children are put at risk through living in an institution, and face rape, trafficking and beatings.

Save the Children says resources should go into projects which support families so they can look after their children.

To read the full article, click here or the link above.

Apparently, Russia is becoming THE place for couples seeking fertility treatment because of its low costs and willingness to work with older women.

For more info, click here.

Cyberia appears to be a new frontier for U.S.-Russian diplomacy, according to an article in today’s The New York Times:

June 28, 2009
U.S. And Russia Differ on Treaty for Cyberspace
By JOHN MARKOFF and ANDREW E. KRAMER

The United States and Russia are locked in a fundamental dispute over how to counter the growing threat of cyberwar attacks that could wreak havoc on computer systems and the Internet.

Both nations agree that cyberspace is an emerging battleground. The two sides are expected to address the subject when President Obama visits Russia next week and at the General Assembly of the United Nations in November, according to a senior State Department official.

But there the agreement ends.

Russia favors an international treaty along the lines of those negotiated for chemical weapons and has pushed for that approach at a series of meetings this year and in public statements by a high-ranking official.

The United States argues that a treaty is unnecessary. It instead advocates improved cooperation among international law enforcement groups. If these groups cooperate to make cyberspace more secure against criminal intrusions, their work will also make cyberspace more secure against military campaigns, American officials say.

Anton and I have been staying in touch on a regular basis, and I’ve received a number of letters from him. I received one a few days ago that I thought I’d post — it seems to give a nice idea about his life and the kind of kid he is.

Hello, Julie,
This is Anton, I am doing fine, answering your question about the hospital – i went to the hospital just for a check, i do not have any pains, it was just a medical examination.
Julie, I go in for sports, I play soccer, volleyball, basketball. I also can balance a stick on my nose, I learnt to do it myself, nobody taught me this.
I can speak and read a little English, I like to read about animals and birds, I also like to have a walk and perform tricks from high roofs.
Julie, my [CD] player [that the incredible Glenn gave him and told him was from me] got stolen at night by the graduates, I had put it in a cabinet. I got an A for my dictation, and a B for my test.
Here’s my short story, I don’t have a photograph.
Love

He also drew the flower in this photo. The caption says, “This rose is for you.”

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BusinessWeek ran a great story recently about how the global economic crisis is affecting Yaroslavl. I highly recommend it to everybody!

The BusinessWeek article is accompanied by a slideshow of terrific photos. Be sure to check them out!

This video was created by Karl Fisch, an administrator at Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colo., for teachers at his school. It was later tweaked by Dr. Scott McLeod , coordinator of the Educational Administration Program at Iowa State University.

Fascinating. Must watch.

On an unrelated note, I received another letter from Anton recently. He’s doing great!

Lovely slide show from the New York Times on agrarian life in Russia, including the influence of the church and the challenges that the villages face.

I recently received the above letter from Anton, one of the kids I worked in Russia, via Glenn, who saw him and two more of “our kids” when he visited their orphanage outside Yaroslavl in July. Anton, like the other orphans, thinks all the volunteers he met in Yaroslavl are American and that we all hang out together when we’re not in Russia, so he asked Glenn (who lives in London) to give it to me! Many thanks to Glenn for his trans-Atlantic courier services! Here’s the translation:

Hello, Yulya.

Anton is writing. How are you? I’m OK. I get 4 and 5 at school (good marks). I’ve got friends, their names are Gena and Maxim. Glenn came to visit us, he gave me some gifts: shampoo and body spray. Come to our school, I cannot wait to see you. I haven’t seen you for the whole year. I’m already 15. My birthday’s on 5th of February. I was born in 1993. I’m in the 8th grade now. Some professions are trained in our school. There four of them: tailor, baker, shoemaker, tractor driver. I’ve chosen a tractor driver for me. I live at school. That’s all for now. Lots of hugs and kisses. Write me a letter. Anton.

IT IS SO AWESOME TO HEAR FROM HIM! I wish I could go see Anton, but I think he knows I can’t. I replied with a letter back to him that explains that I can’t visit, but we still can write letters to each other. I included some photographs I took of him, some stickers, and a map highlighting where he lives in Russia, where Glenn lives in England, and where I live in the USA! I’m pretty sure Glenn explained that I would love to visit but it won’t be possible for a long time. I brought some Russian stamps home from Russia with me, so I was able to include an SASE with my letter to him, but we’re dealing with two different mail systems and two different alphabets, so I’m cautiously optimistic but also sadly realistic. I know people sent me letters in Russia that I never received, and I mailed some here from Russia that never arrived, so I’m just hoping that both postal systems do what they’re supposed to do and am keeping my fingers crossed. Glenn has a back-up copy of my letter to take to Anton on his next trip just in case my letter never reaches him via mail.

I also got a short letter from Glenn about his trip, but I forgive him for the lack of detail since he is such a great courier, Russian proofreader and friend! What a dear man he is! Here are the interesting parts of his e-mail to me:

Hello Julie.

– Glenn

Many thanks to Glenn and to the large community of friends in Atlanta and Russia who helped me translate the letters to and from Anton!!

Anton

Which country has the highest percentage of orphans on the planet?

No, not Russia, but here are some hints:

1. The country’s economy has halved in the past 10 years.

2. The nation’s inflation rate is running about 9,000,000% a year. (Yes, that’s nine million percent.) A $500 million note recently issued was worth $2 U.S. upon introduction; four weeks later it was worth 5 cents.

3. The unemployment rate is more than 80%.

4. It has the world’s shortest life span: the average person is dead by age 36, down from age 62 in 1990.

5. About half the population relies on food aid.

6. Here is the totalitarian dictator of this Garden Of Eden:

What nation is this?
Zimbabwe.

You MUST READ this article.

Beautiful obituary in the NY Times about the death of Anatoly Pristavkin, a writer, former Russian orphan and children’s advocate. Must read.

Interesting article in the New York Times today about the luxury of summertime loafing in Moscow. What I found most interesting about it was its really nice details about lifestyles and standards of living — the evolving coffeehouse/cafe culture among the middle class, the price of a modest restaurant meal versus the price of a cheap beer, the salary of a janitor. The money matters discussed are clearly Moscow prices, not Yaroslavl prices!

I’ve been missing working with the kids especially strongly over the summer and so was delighted to receive an e-mail from Glenn today telling me that he will be returning to Russia for a week VERY soon and hopes to see some of “our” kids! I can’t wait for a full report! Good luck, Glenn — safe travels! The best thing to happen to those kids in ages is on its way!