In retaliation for the United States placing sanctions on Russian human rights violators, the Russian parliament has passed a bill banning U.S. citizens from adopting Russian orphans. The action comes after President Obama signed the so-called “Magnitsky Act,” named for a Russian lawyer who died while in prison, into law on Dec. 14.

The Russians are responding with the Dima Yakovlev bill. The measure commemorates a young boy adopted from Russia who later died in the U.S and places travel sanctions on those Americans whom Russia has deemed violate the human rights of Russian citizens. The Russian Duma, or Parliament, voted unanimously in favor of the bill on Wednesday, and President Vladimir Putin is fully prepared to sign it into law. Putin attempted to head off criticism about the effect the ban will have on the already strained Russian system of care for its orphans:

In televised comments, Putin tried to appeal to people’s patriotism by suggesting that strong and responsible countries should take care of their own and lent his support to a bill that has further strained U.S.-Russia relations.

“There are probably many places in the world where living standards are higher than ours. So what, are we going to send all our children there? Maybe we should move there ourselves?” he said, with sarcasm.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs Olga Golodets says that putting the ban into effect would not only violate Russian federal law, but also international law and a 2011 agreement that the U.S. and Russia put into place regarding adoption. At present, Americans adopt more orphans from Russian than they do any other country.

This week Mitt Romney’s son Matt traveled to Moscow for business and, reports say, allayed any concerns the Russian government had about his father’s harsh stance on Russia. When it comes to Russia, Mitt Romney has been brash, at one point labeling Russia “without question our number one geopolitical foe” and “a geopolitical adversary.” He’s also repeatedly lashed out at President Obama for allegedly being weak on Russia. But according to a New York Times report, Matt Romney is trying to convince Russia that the tough talk is just talk:

“But while in Moscow, Mr. Romney told a Russian known to be able to deliver messages to Mr. Putin that despite the campaign rhetoric, his father wants good relations if he becomes president, according to a person informed about the conversation.”

Romney’s statements have drawn negative feedback from Republicans like Sen. Richard Luger, who called Romney’s statements on Russia “discredited objections.” Others, like former Secretary of State Colin Powell have gone even further, urging Romney to develop more nuance on the issue. In May, Powell said:

“I think he really needs to not just accept these cataclysmic sort of pronouncements. I think he really needs to think carefully about these statements because they’re now on the wall for people to see. … Let’s not go creating enemies where none yet exist. Does this mean that we should trust Putin or Medvedev? No. Let’s be mature people and look at the reality of the situation and not find ways to see if we can hyperbolize the situation.”

Russia experts were dismayed at Romney’s harsh stance. Steve Pifer, the Brookings Institution’s Arms Control Initiative director, told the New York Times in May that Romney’s arguments “left people scratching their heads.” Romney’s stance even “set off disagreements among some of his foreign policy advisers” according to the New York Times and signaled to some of his inner circle his view of “foreign policy conflicts as zero-sum negotiations.” One foreign policy adviser told the Daily Beast that “the campaign should have walked it back and moved on.”

Some Russian officials weren’t amused by Romney’s words. In July, a top international affairs official said of Romney’s words: “If he is serious about this, I’m afraid he may choose the neocon-type people…In the first year of his presidency, we may have a full-scale crisis.” Dmitri Medvedev, Russia’s former president and current prime minister, commented too: “My other advice is to check their clocks from time to time. It is 2012, not the mid-1970s.” But Vladimir Putin, Russia’s current president, dismissed Romney’s statements as “pre-election rhetoric.”

Wikipedia’s Russian site has gone dark for 24 hours to protest a censorship bill headed to the Russian parliament today.

Russian Wikipedia is replicating the site’s January 18 black-out in protest of the SOPA and PIPA bills here in the United States, which replaced its usual homepage with an explanation of the controversial Internet policing proposals. Today, visitors to the Russian Wikipedia are greeted with a message saying, according to a translation by BBC News:

The State Duma is expected to hold a second hearing about amendments to the Information Act, which could lead to the creation of extra-judicial censorship of the entire internet in Russia, including banning access to Wikipedia in the Russian language.

Today the Wikipedia community voices protest against the introduction of censorship, which is dangerous for the freedom of knowledge – something which must be open-access for all mankind.

The Information Act, according to the Associated Press, ”would give the Russian government sweeping powers to blacklist certain sites, the latest in a flurry of legislation that appears aimed at neutering a growing opposition movement that has protested President Vladimir Putin’s rule.” Defenders of the bill claim it is meant to protect children from pornography and other unsavory websites. The law was introduced by lawmakers from Putin’s party and will almost definitely pass.

Russian Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov tweeted in response to the black-out: “I do not support the idea of shutting down Wikipedia. Its step is an important reaction by the web community which says that the law [submitted to the Duma] needs to be improved.”

Unlike China, the Russian government has mostly left Internet access unregulated. Anton Nossik, media director of Russia’s most popular blogging platform, told the AP:

For the past 12 years I was sure that the Russian government was smart enough not to censor the Internet. Now they are scattering any doubt that Russia is on the path of government regulation that is senseless and ruthless.

Russia has been rocked by protests since Putin won the presidency in a contest called a “fraud” by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In response, Putin has used the law to crush opposition to his presidency. Last month, new laws meant to restrict public assembly were met with huge demonstrations in the streets, where tens of thousands of Russians calling for “Russia without Putin.”

Tens of thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets of Moscow to protest new laws passed by the Russian government restricting public assembly on the grounds of maintaining order. The new laws dramatically increasing fines for participating in unauthorized demonstrations.

This winter, opposition protests against Putin’s expected ascension to the presidency bloomed, followed by a string of unauthorized protests this May. But Putin promised a crackdown on the movement after he took office, following through by approving the new law and raiding the homes of activists yesterday ahead of Tuesday’s march. But that didn’t stop the crowd — estimated by the opposition to be between 60,000 and 70,000 people — from turning out.

Reuters has a photo from today’s rally, courtesy of Der Spiegel:

Russians defied the very fear that the new laws were meant to instill in them. “I am not afraid I will be fined. I am not going to fight or scream, why would they fine me? And if they do, I won’t pay, I’ll go to jail and be considered a political prisoner,” Nina Lobachyova, a 73-year-old economist, told Reuters. Some even turned the tables: “They are scared of the people’s protest,” opposition leader Boris Nemtsov told the rally.

The crowds chanted, “Russia will be free,” “Russia without Putin,” and “All power to the people,” according to reports.

Police, whose lower estimate put the crowd at only 18,000, met protesters with 12,000 police clad in full riot gear.

The new laws were introduced in reaction to unexpected protests in early May when then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was set to retake his seat as president. Russian gay rights activists held two unsanctioned protests later that month.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced today that he will not participate in upcoming presidential debates. Instead, the Russian leader will send representatives to debate on his behalf. Putin, who pledged to develop democracy in Russia, is still expected to win the March 4 presidential election but Kremlin watchers are questioning how the government will handle the aftermath of one of the most intensely contested elections in recent Russian history.

The Wall Street Journal’s Alan Cullison reports that the Kremlin is falling back on anti-Americanism as a useful tool to both smear opponents as “puppets of the U.S.’s CIA and State Department” and bolster Putin’s images as a fierce nationalist. A degree of hostility to the U.S. has always been a staple of Putin’s leadership but the new campaign has gone further, branding his political opponents as American puppets.

A documentary titled “Foreigners Will Help Them,” aired on Russian television last week. The film features supposed secret tapes of opposition leaders accepting instructions from U.S. officials in Moscow and Washington.

On Saturday, Russia’s veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at ending the 11-month Syrian uprising drew harsh words from Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton characterized that veto as “a travesty” during a visit to Bulgaria this weekend — but Russian obstinance at the U.N. may serve Putin domestically as evidence that he is unafraid to stand up to the U.S. and the West.

News this morning that Putin will send proxies to represent him in upcoming presidential election debates came as a surprise since he had explicitly told journalists on December 28 that he would debate his challengers. Putin, speaking to the journalists, slammed his political opponents, telling them that “the point is that the opposition doesn’t carry out practical work and it always demands the impossible, and then usually nothing is implemented.” He continued, “[Dialogue is required,] and I will decide what form it will take exactly.”

For a month now, a nascent protest movement has roiled Russia as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin seeks to reassert himself as president, the same position he gave up in 2008. His successor and likely soon-to-be predecessor President Dmitri Medvedev responded to the protest movement by offering reforms on his way out the door after a planned March election. But today’s protests stand as a strong rebuke to the eleventh hour concessions.

Security sources told the U.K’s Guardian that 80,000 people showed up to protest in Moscow — the largest demonstration since the collapse of the Soviet Union — to demonstrate against what they contend was a fraudulent parliamentary election. Here’s a photograph of the crowds in Moscow on Saturday:

In the first days of the protests, U.S. Secretary of State HIllary Clinton said the elections were a “fraud,” drawing criticism from Putin.

Thousands also demonstrated in St. Petersburg, one of Russia’s largest cities and a financial and cultural capital. The U.K. telegraph paper carried a video report from the protest.

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