President Putin has signed a bill preventing American families from adopting Russian children. According to CNN, the new legislation may be seen as a retaliation for the so called "Magnitsky Act", which was signed by President Obama on December 14. The Magnitsky Act is designed to impose "U.S. travel and financial restrictions on human rights abusers in Russia", and is named after a Russian lawyer who died 2009 in a detention center in Moscow. Russian officials however, are citing concerns over maltreatment of U.S.-adopted Russian children as the cause for signing the new bill. Meanwhile, UNICEF are stressing the importance of finding alternatives to the institutionalization of Russian orphans; "'including permanent foster care, domestic adoption and inter-country adoption'". It is unclear whether children already selected for adoption will be allowed to move to the U.S.
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