At a meeting of key personnel in the City of Moscow’s department of youth and family policy, the head of the analytical section of the office of the presidential ombudsman for children’s rights, Galina Semya, announced the statistics for placement of orphans with families in both Moscow and Russia.

In 2008 within the Russian Federation overall the number of known orphans fell by ten percent. This was partly linked to the decline in the child population. In Moscow the number diminished by 617 persons. In the country overall the number of family placements fell by nineteen percent. In the capital on the contrary the number rose by five percent. ‘This figure is typical of only a quarter of the regions’, emphasised Ms Semya. The number of adoptions fell by 5 percent overall but rose by 9 percent in the capital. Although Moscow lagged behind other regions in regard to the number of placements in foster families, the city had been amongst the leaders in this regard in 2008. ‘The number of children placed with foster families declined by 26 percent in 2009. In the capital there was an increase of 82 percent. Relatively speaking this is a significant indicator though it must be remembered that the capital lags behind the other regions in absolute terms’, said the expert. As distinct from the case in other regions, Moscow sees fewer children being returned from foster families. In the country generally the number of children returning comprised 6 percent of the total number placed, whilst in the capital the corresponding figure was 3 percent.