Russian demonstrators rally in support of U.S. adoption ban

(Reuters) - Thousands of people marched through Moscow on Saturday in an orderly show of support for a ban on adoptions of Russian children by Americans, echoing President Vladimir Putin's demands for better care for Russian orphans in their homeland.

Carrying signs with slogans including "Children are our future" and "America - hands off our children", activists mixed bitter criticism of the United States with calls for improvements in Russia's own care system.

"These children are ours. We shouldn't give them away," said Natalya Bakhinova, 56, walking in one of two columns led by marching bands that converged in Moscow's Pushkin Square.

Police said 12,000 people joined the rally, and organizers denied allegations some were coerced or paid to attend.

Moscow has seized on the death of Russian-born three-year-old Max Shatto - who died in January in Texas, where his adoptive parents live - as justification for the ban that has increased tensions with the United States.

After improvements under a "reset" President Barack Obama initiated in 2009, ties have been strained by Syria and issues including Putin's charges of U.S. meddling and his treatment of opponents since he returned to Russia's presidency last May.

more here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/02/us-russia-adoption-idUSBRE92107D20130302