Russian boy abandoned in Dominican Republic returns home

MOSCOW, October 1 (Itar-Tass) -- A Russian boy, who was abandoned by
his adoptive family in the Dominican Republic, returns to Russia on Friday.
His plane is expected to land at Moscow's Domodedovo airport at 11:30
a.m. Moscow time. The boy is accompanied by Russian Children's Ombudsman
Pavel Astakhov.
Denis Khokhryakov (Diego Sologub), born in 1998, was taken by his
adoptive parents, Russian citizens, to the Dominican Republic in 2004.
After a while the boy's adoptive parents left for Russia, leaving Denis
with their Dominican acquaintances who put the boy into state care in 2005.
The boy's adoptive parents were arrested in 2009 for cocaine
trafficking in Russia, and are currently serving their sentences.
"All technical issues have been settled and all documents for the boy'
s return have been prepared in close cooperation between the Russian
Foreign Ministry and anti-drug authority and thanks to personal assistance
of head of the consular department of the Russian embassy in Venezuela
Ivan Savin," the press service of the Russian Children's Ombudsman said.
On Wednesday, Savin said the boy was in "a very good, cheerful mood."
"I met with him several times but never saw him in such high spirits," he
said. "Denis' first meeting with Pavel Astakhov was held in a warm
atmosphere, as he put it himself. Astakhov spoke to him in Spanish, since
the boy has forgotten the native language over the years in the Dominican
Republic," the Russian diplomat noted.