7 year old flight to Moscow

What kind of idiot sends a 7 year old on a trans-Atlantic flight alone? Irrelevant of any issues the 7 year old may or may not have had (I would think nothing that couldn't have been expected for a 7 year old who has been in an orphanage most of his life), who would do that to a child?

Our thoughts are with our friends who just received their referral and are worried Russia may shut down to American parents before they can finish their process. I hope this is just tough talk by politicians. To let a few bad apples pose such a problem to the significant majority of adoptive parents is sad. I think I read that about 1600 children were adopted last year. No child deserves to be treated this way or worse but the percentage is barely 1/10 of a percent.

So in closing, I think the mother and her mother should both be punished criminally for what they did. And I hope to God that Russia keeps their doors open for our friends and every other family in their position: that it is just politicians talking tough. Especially when one considers today's article stated there were currently around 740,000 children waiting to be adopted in Russia.