Travel Russia


Adoption Sites


Adopting from Russia
Benefit from the wisdom and insight gained through adoption the second time around. The information provided on this site is based on the actual experiences of people who have recently adopted from Russia through a variety of agencies.

Children at All Costs
This article, published in Literal-Latte, won several awards. It chronicles the author's, Janet Carey Eldred's, adoption of a Russian child.

Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption (FRUA)
FRUA is a support network for adoptive families with children from the former Soviet Union with chapters throughout the U.S. They can help you prepare for your adoption experience and support you after you return home.

International Medical Clinic Moscow
International Medical Clinic Moscow, which opened in 1994, is situated in the center of Moscow, Russia at Presidential Polyclinic #1. The medical staff is composed of American, Canadian and Russian physicians. The clinic provides Family Medicine services with Emergency and Trauma care capabilities. Child and Women's Care is also available at the clinic.

Travel Sites

City.net Russia
Want to get a lay of the land before you leave home? Take a tour? View city maps? Why not catch up on current events by reading the "hometown" newspaper? You can with city.net from Excite, a database of 4,300 destinations worldwide.

Lonely Planet - Destination Russia
Excellent information about travel in Russia.

Russia Travel Tips
Official site of the Russian National Tourist Office.

Culture Sites

Apple Tree Dolls and Bears
When Merrily and Ted Ripley's children were young, they had a hard time finding nice, dark-skinned dolls for their internationally adopted children. Play dolls with Asian features were simply not made. So the Ripley's started Apple Tree Dolls and Bears. Merrily, director of Adoption Advocates International, has taken advantage of her travels around the world on the behalf of orphan children to collect many different kinds of dolls, many of which are available at Apple Tree Dolls and Bears. The Ripley's have a good selection of ethnic dolls offered especially so that children of color can have a doll that looks like them.

A Dictionary of Period Russian Names
A compilation of over 25,000 Russian names taken from period sources by Paul Wickenden of Thanet.

Friends and Partners
A great site jointly developed by citizens of the US and Russia to promote better understanding between the people of our countries. The "Friends and Partners" organization resulted from a chance meeting on the Internet. It now represents a community of people all over the world who provide information and communications services to promote better understanding, friendship and partnership between individuals and organizations of the United States (and, more broadly, "the west") and countries of the Former Soviet Union.

A Family Story

Bob and Mary Rocklein
The Christian Science Monitor followed one family's adoption story.