Pavel Astakhov, the Russian Children’s Ombudsman from 2009-2016, has been condemned by the Polish government for comments made on a television program hosted by Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov.
Astakhov said he wonders why the Polish ambassador to Russia has yet to be “found floating in the Moskva River”, after recalling the 2022 dousing of Russia’s Ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreyev, in red paint during a visit to the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw.
He continued: “retaliatory measures for unfriendly actions” is not a crime and part of the nature of war. He also cited how Poland has been funneling Western arms into Ukraine.
The current Ambassador of Poland to the Russian Federation is Krzysztof Krajewski.
Astakhov’s critics in Russia have accused him of being an opportunist and a publicity seeker. Some child advocacy groups wished him “to pay more attention to protecting the rights of children in Russia and less to PR for himself”. In April 2010 Astakhov described child advocacy groups as the “best form of legalization of the paedophile community”. (Wiki)
The Polish government responded: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland condemns the statement of the former Ombudsman of the Russian Federation, Pawe? Astahow, proving that the murder of the Polish Ambassador is admissible. We call on Russia to ensure the safety of all diplomats in accordance with the Vienna Convention.”
These comments come during the period of remembrance for Poles on the Katyn Massacre from April-May 1940 in which more than 22,000 Poles were shot by Soviet authorities after the destruction of the country by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
