On Jan., 13 20,000-50,000 men, women, and children alike marched together in protest of the recently signed Dima Yakovlev Act by Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

A variety of news sources claim that the act, which went into effect on Jan. 1, was contrived to cork the abuse of orphaned children, and also, to cut off American/Russian adoption. But that through a nationwide poll, many Russians (56%) did not feel the new act was necessary.

Since the end of the Soviet Union, Americans have adopted over 60,000 Russian children, many of those ill and disabled. And of all of those, only 19 have died. At the signing of this ban 52 adoptions that were just weeks from completion were annulled, leaving families out of money and time.

The majority of protesters were based out of Moscow, but smaller-scale protests were occurring in other cities around the country as well. Protesters attacked Putin and the Russian politicians that supported the Dima Yakovlev Act by putting their faces on posters with “shame” and “Putin is a thief” written over them. About 25 people were arrested over the course of the march.