The new law bans US citizens from adopting Russian children and terminates the activities of adoption agencies working in the US interests on the Russian territory.

      The law is a response to the US Magnitsky Act, which imposes visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials deemed guilty of human rights abuses.

      It is named after Sergey Magnitsky, a lawyer of the Hermitage Capital foundation, who died in a Moscow prison after accusing investigators of a massive tax fraud.

      Russia’s legislative response is named after Dima Yakovlev, a 21-month-old Russian child who died of exposure to heat in July 2008 after his adoptive father left him in a car for several hours.