Searching For Your Birth Parents If You’re Adopted From Russia or Ukraine
Are you adopted from Eastern Europe (Here we are covering countries like Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. We know that Eastern Europe covers quite a few countries but this is for those countries that still use the Russian language)
Like many of us from the early 1990s up until now, there were many children adopted into a Family from Eastern Europe. In the 1990s in America alone there was over 19,000 adoptions from Russia in the 1990s. For New Zealand there were over 700. Worldwide from China and Russia there had been over 410,000 adoptions from 27 countries from 2000-2010.
Most of the stories that are shared with us are from adoptees who came from these areas. It is difficult for some as everything is different. The language, the culture and the size of the countries. Many adoptees have revisited their Birth Country in these areas to experience the culture and the people and a lot of them have gone back to meet their Birth Parents.
Searching for Birth Relatives in a country like Russia takes time and patience. You should never put yourself in a direct timeline of expecting how long it will take. Adoptees should take some time to learn about their birth culture and the country before searching. That is just a bit of advice from my end as it’s important to learn about these countries a little bit first.
Before I did my search for my Birth Parents in 2013 I knew a lot about Russia already. I knew that it was going to be a totally different Country than where I am in New Zealand. But I still didn’t know what to expect. Since 2013 adoptions from Russia has been put on hold.
There are many ways for any adoptees to search for their Birth Parents in Russia or Ukraine. Remember to think about searching for them - first. Do it when you feel it’s right and take your time. Decide on who you would like to get help from before searching too. It all comes down to yourself if you want to search for any of your birth family.
We will always provide some advice on anyone wanting to do a search. You can contact us here if you want to reach out.
Here are some tips that can help you on your search. (In no particular order)
Find yourself a friend who speaks Russian or Ukrainian who can go over what information you have with you. This way you can sit down and look at what you can find online on your birth parents. You may even have the chance to learn the language with them. Words like ‘Свидетельство о рождении’ or ‘Свидетельство об усыновлении’ you may see on your papers. First few words mean Certificate of Birth and second few words mean Certificate of Adoption.
Have a look at Russian Social Network websites like vk.com or ok.ru. These websites are used more by people in Eastern Europe than Facebook. You can do a search through Community Groups or People Search for people under the same last name. Note: Never rush. Take your time. And always be careful before messaging. We have some advice below on contact.
You can always share your story with the Private Facebook Group here or for our public page here. Please read the terms and conditions first before sharing. We can also provide free advice through our website on our contact page.
Use DeepL for some assistance with word translations or Google Translate to use a Russian Keyboard which can help you too. This way you can get some information if you look closely on what papers or documents you may have. Try to match up any names correctly instead of relying on Google Translate. Some names don’t translate all that well. (This is for when you may use the Russian text to search through on Social Media)
Don’t message people right away if you may think you have found someone. Slow down and take your time. The best way about it is once you have an idea that you may have found someone, think about what you want to say first. We recommend mentioning that you’re trying to look for some relatives. Explaining that you want to simply connect.
In several Social Network Websites there is also advanced searches for example in VK.com. When you do a search for someone you can narrow it down to a Birth Date or area from where they are from. Try searching for only the Russian or Ukrainian last name and from that area. See what you find.
You can always hire someone to search for you. We don’t have an official list of services or people. We know there are many options on Google but we aren’t affiliated with any PI or searchers. Our advice with contacting us can help you on this.
Going to your adoption agency is also an option. These people may be able to help you with your search for your Birth Parents. They may be able to guide you to the right people to help you search.
Just on a side note – Learn a bit about the culture. Take your time! - Alex Gilbert
We can provide advice but as we work as volunteers with I’m Adopted we can only do what we can in our own time. Thank you for your understanding. We hope this helps and we hope we can help!
