The Slavic Department displays various Slavic films throughout the semester. The Russian documentary Children of the State was about a topic I was completely unfamiliar with, Russian orphans and how they were impacted by the Dima Yakovlev Law passed by the Russian Duma. The Dima Yakovlev Law was passed in December 2012, named after Dima Yakovlev, a Russian child adopted by an American family who was killed while left in a car. His death was used as the primary motivation to ban foreigners from adopting Russia children because Russian lawmakers believed Russian children should stay in Russia, where they were safe and tied to their culture.
However, this documentary revealed that Russian orphans who were adopted by foreigners were typically physically or mentally disabled and adoption gave these children a much better opportunity to develop socially and mentally. Various Russian orphanages were shown, were large groups of children were handled by relatively few adults, with little opportunity of a personal upbringing, where they could express their own thoughts and feelings. The documentary centered around an American family who were eager to adopt a Russian girl with Down Syndrome but were unable to do so even after they visited her because of the passing of the Dima Yakovlev Law. The family was incredibly excited to adopt this girl and give her a better life, feeling that even after one visit that they were bettering her life as she was talking to them, even though her caretakers at the orphanage said she couldn’t talk.
I was very fascinated by this documentary as I’ve always known that adopting kids from abroad was a difficult process for Americans, but I never exactly knew how difficult this process actually was. I think this documentary was very important in showing how the Dima Yakovlev law has impacted lives around the world and in showing the perspective of both those who were for the law and those who were against. I am in Russian Literature this semester and this opportunity was presented to me as I was in that course and could gain extra credit for my class. As I’ve learned more about Russian culture this semester through my Russian Literature class and through the documentary I watched, I’ve become very fascinated by Russian culture. In fact, I am actually now beginning to learn the Russian language next semester, along with taking a Russian course on Anna Karenina, which counts towards my General Education requirements. Since I am taking so many Russian courses, I may pursue a minor in Russian, which will certainly be an interesting combination with my existing majors, Economics and Mathematics.