( CNN ) -- Russia 's upper house of parliament has approved a controversial measure banning adoption of Russian children by U.S. families , Russian media reported Wednesday . The legislation now goes to President Vladimir Putin to be signed into law , the semiofficial RIA-Novosti news agency said . Read more : Russia 's lower house approves bill to ban U.S. adoption . The legislation could affect hundreds of American families seeking to adopt . Americans adopted close to 1,000 Russian children last year , according to U.S. State Department figures . Though the number has been dropping in recent years , Russia remains the third most popular country for U.S. citizens to adopt after China and Ethiopia . The U.S . Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul tweeted that passage of the bill `` saddens '' him , but said he 's open to dialogue . The bill also bars any political activities by nongovernmental organizations receiving funding from the United States , if such activities could affect Russian interests , the news agency said . The legislation also imposes sanctions against U.S. officials thought to have violated human rights . Read more : Russian lawmakers eye adoption ban to U.S . The vote in the Federation Council , Russia 's upper house , was unanimous , but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has criticized the bill . It is expected to be signed by Putin in coming days . Lawmakers in the State Duma , Russia 's lower house of parliament , adopted the bill last week . The move by Russian politicians is widely seen as retaliation for a law that U.S. President Barack Obama signed on December 14 . That bill , called the Magnitsky Act , imposes U.S. travel and financial restrictions on human rights abusers in Russia . `` The United States is concerned by measures in the bill passed in the Russian Duma today that , if it becomes law , would halt inter-country adoptions between the United States and Russia and would restrict the ability of Russian civil society organizations to work with American partners , '' U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said last week . The Magnitsky Act is named in honor of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky , who uncovered the largest tax fraud in the country 's history in the form of rebates claimed by government officials who stole money from the state . Magnitsky died in 2009 after a year in a Moscow detention center , apparently beaten to death . The Russian bill 's implementation would nullify a recent agreement between the United States and Russia in which the countries agreed to additional safeguards to protect children and parties involved in inter-country adoptions . `` American families have welcomed more than 60,000 Russian children into American homes over the past 20 years , '' Ventrell said last week . `` Just last month we implemented a bilateral adoptions agreement with Russia to improve safeguards for adopted children and their families . If Russian officials have concerns about the implementation of this agreement , we stand ready to work with them to improve it and remain committed to supporting inter-country adoptions between our two countries . '' Only China has more adoptions to the United States than Russia . Backers of the Russian bill said American adoptive parents have been abusive , citing 19 deaths of Russian children since the 1990s . In 2010 , an American woman caused outrage after she sent her adopted son back to Russia alone on a one-way flight , saying the boy , then 7 , had violent episodes that made her family fear for its safety . Konstantin Dolgov , Russian Foreign Ministry 's Special Representative for Human Rights , said on Twitter that Russia is `` well aware of , and have pointed out more than once , the inadequate protection of adopted Russian children in the US . '' He also noted that the United States is one of three nations that has not signed the 1989 U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child . Anthony Lake , U.N. Children 's Fund executive director , touted the importance of `` inter-country adoption . '' `` While welcoming Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev 's call for the improvement of the child welfare system , UNICEF urges that the current plight of the many Russian children in institutions receives priority attention , '' Lake said . UNICEF asked that Russia let children 's `` best interests '' guide the `` design and development of all efforts to protect children . '' `` We encourage the government to establish a robust national social protection plan to help strengthen Russian families . Alternatives to the institutionalization of children are essential , including permanent foster care , domestic adoption and inter-country adoption , '' he said . The United States has signed but not ratified the convention , which has sparked concerns from conservatives over its impact on U.S. sovereignty and parental rights . Groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had urged lawmakers to reject the bill . `` This bill hits back at Russia 's most vulnerable children and could deprive them of the loving families they desperately need , '' Hugh Williamson , Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch , said last week . John Dalhuisen , Amnesty International 's Europe and Central Asia program director , has said , `` this bill is frankly a childish response to the Magnitsky Act . ''
Upper house of parliament OKs ban on adoptions of Russian children by U.S. families . Lawmakers in U.S. 's lower house of parliament adopted the bill December 14 . The move is seen as retaliation for the Magnitsky Act , a Russia law that restricts rights abusers . But backers of the American bill say Russian adoptive parents have been abusive .