It's Official!

It is indeed official: Kirill is now our son. But not until after what has been perhaps the most stressful day since we began this journey of a foreign adoption. Today we went to court and met with the judge, and state of Karelia prosecutor in a court session that lasted 4 hours. In attendance was also Kirill's social worker, Svetlana, orphanage director, Alla, and our translator Marina. Nobody smiled; it was all business, and Celia and I were grilled to no end seemingly. The grilling began with Celia then me, and involved many questions ranging from why a foreign adoption, why Kirill, why Russia; do we make enough money to afford Kirill; what about the recent case of the adopted Russian 2 year-old that died of heat stroke in a car in Virginia by a neglectful father, and many other legitimate questions, all intended to give us an opportunity to prove our worthiness as adopting parents of a Russian child. We were counseled the day before on what things to say and especially what not to say. What was abundantly clear was that there was no family of Kirill's left that could take care of him, either because of financial or health reasons, or both. To this day, nobody knows the whereabouts of his parents, Julia and Sergei. All attempts were made to place Kirill with Russian families in a foster care setting, but everyone agrees formal adoption is in Kirill's best interest.

The prosecutor was a thin, blond attractive woman in her early twenties, dressed in a military type uniform, and new at the job. She was very particular and was also upset about the fact that no Russian families existed that could adopt Kirill in the area. She grilled the orphanage director about how much she had tried to place Kirill with whatever family was left (and aunt and a grandmother. Both signed off formally on Kirill). The judge was also a woman, around in her 60s, and very stoic. She too was concerned about the lack of available Russian families able to adopt. Additional questions centered on how we plan to deal with a child that does not speak English, and how we parent in general. Lots of open-ended questions. Overall, there was a clear bias against Americans adopting Russian children, but this was tempered by the fact that we were very good candidates to adopt Kirill, and that adoption was in Kirill's best interest, even if it was by foreign parents. We recessed after giving closing arguments, and returned an hour later to receive the verdict, and it was as we had hoped: we were granted legal parenteral rights to Kirill. We then gave a small set of roses to the judge and the prosecutor, which is a customary gesture. Just before we left, the prosecutor came up to Celia and me and admonished that we take very good care of Kirill, because we are the only family he has now. She tried to talk to Kirill, but he did not pay much attention to her. I don't think he liked what she represented: someone who could argue against our petition.

After Kirill found out about the verdict, he smiled, hugged us, and said he was very happy with the news. We then went back to the hotel for a little while, and had a beer (Celia and I, of course)at the hotel lounge. He then talked to his "babooshka" Ruth in California and sister Danielle in Iowa by phone. Kirill's mood clearly changed. He began laughing more, and then began repeating more words in English. We then hooked up with Dave and Lisa Lentell and their Nastia, and had a very nice traditional Karelian dinner, during which Kirill and Nastia proceeded to go bonkers!! Lots of singing and giggling. I think Kirill was just relieved, but Nastia was probably expressing nervous energy, as the Lentells go to court tomorrow. Both kids are beautiful, full of life and promise. As damaged as they were in their earlier life, they have come a long way. This is a credit to the Karlelian orphanage system, child welfare system and Russian medical care, which has done a great job bringing Kirill, Nastia and others to such a highly functional level. Kirill is incredibly intelligent, warm and very, very patient. He has become very close to us during this short stay. At this moment, as I right this blog, he is sitting in bed with Celia and me, watching Russian television.

The Russian government is very upset over the fact that this Virginia father was acquitted from this case that took place last summer. However, from what Ilya told us, Russian perception of what goes on in the world is based on the Russian media, which at this time is fairly anti-American/Bush. So we endured this adoption process during a very charged political and emotional time. I suspect there will be some curtailing of adoption of Russian children by Americans in the coming years as a result of this case.

We leave Kirill again in two days, but Celia and our daughter Danielle return January 6th for a 3 week stay, partly in Petro and the rest in Moscow. I will join them in Moscow for 5 days. We bring him home for good on January 21st. It has been one of the most eventful days in our 13 years as a married couple, and well worth the effort involved in making Kirill our son.