Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that he plans to sign a bill into law that bans American citizens from adopting Russian children. The ban will be effective as of next Tuesday, blocking the pending adoptions of 46 Russian children.

This move from the Kremlin is in response to Congress passing a law earlier this month to impose financial and visa sanctions on Russian officials accused of human rights violations. In addition to banning adoptions from American citizens, the bill will also include visa restrictions for certain American officials.

The adoption ban will override a bilateral international adoptions agreement that went into effect on Nov. 1, and is another sign of deteriorating relations between Russia and the U.S. Russia also asked the U.S. to stop its support of Russian democracy groups in September, as the Kremlin under Putin’s second term has taken measures to reduce U.S. involvement in Russian affairs.

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Around 1,000 Russian Children were adopted by American parents in 2011, according to the New York Times, and 45,000 from the country have been adopted since 1999. In the U.S., Russia is the source for more adopted children than any other country.

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While Russia's child right commissioner Pavel A. Astakhov supports the ban, stating that "I think any foreign adoption is bad for the country." Activists and even senior officials across Russia have denounced the decision, while the Russian investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta has collected 100,000 signatures opposing the ban.

Part of the bill includes a decree to improve the Russian child welfare system, as well as make it easier for Russian citizens to adopt. There were 10,000 adoptions in Russia in 2011, but UNICEF estimates there are nearly 750,000 children in Russia without parental custody.

"As you know this bill is in response to a human rights bill that President Obama signed," said Lauren Koch, spokeswoman for the National Council for Adoption. "But really what they are doing is creating another human rights issue. Those children deserve the hope and promise of a loving family."

The bill is named for Dima Yakovlev, an adopted Russian toddler who died in 2008 in Virginia after he was left in a parked car by his father, who was acquitted of manslaughter. The acquittal, as well as an incident in 2010 when a Tennessee woman sent her 7-year-old adopted son alone on a plane to Moscow after having issues with the child, have fueled the outrage over American adoptions within Russian government circles. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized today that Russia is paying close attention to human rights violations of Russian children already in the U.S.

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