Pavel astakhov, biography, news, photos. Resignation of Astakhov

Children's Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov still resigns, a senior Kremlin source told reporters on Saturday. The human rights activist was demanded to be fired for his careless "How did you swim?" in a conversation with children injured on Syamozero, but similar punctures happened to him before. Experts admit that Astakhov, apparently, is simply not created for this position. How he got to this post and why he was dismissed, "Lenta.ru" figured out.

Meanwhile, a petition for the ombudsman's resignation continued to gain votes on change.org. The initiators called the reason for it a replica in a conversation with children who survived the storm on Syamozero. Astakhovskoe "Well, how did you swim?" in a matter of hours it turned into a meme and caused a wave of criticism against the ombudsman for the rights of the child.

By Sunday afternoon, when a Kremlin source had already determined the fate of the human rights activist, about 156,000 citizens had signed up for his resignation.

According to media reports, Astakhov admitted that he was "really seriously blown away" by the president for his inaccurate statement. But doctors rushed to the rescue, explaining that the would-be ombudsman acted in accordance with the recommendations of the psychologist. The human rights activist himself also referred to some special psychological techniques that were supposed to make the conversation with the injured children more relaxed.

But this is not Astakhov's first public puncture. He was immediately reminded of last year's statement in connection with the marriage of a minor in the Caucasus: "There are places where women are wrinkled at the age of 27 and by our standards they are under 50." Then the Internet was buzzing no less, and the official is being dismissed only now. So what happened - an inappropriate phrase against the background of the death of children overwhelmed the cup of patience, or are there any other reasons for dismissal?

“It is unlikely that he quarreled with anyone,” says political analyst Yevgeny Minenko. “I think that Astakhov found himself in this position quite by accident: there was a well-known media figure, with high recognition, he speaks smartly, and besides, a lawyer.” But according to the expert, it has now become clear that children's human rights defenders "do not fulfill their main functions." “Given the abundance of claims against him, he still did not fit into this role, did not merge with it,” Minchenko said.

In the biography of Astakhov, nothing really speaks in favor of the fact that the protection of the family and childhood was his vocation. His maternal grandfather worked in the state security agencies; the human rights activist himself graduated from the KGB High School in 1991. A decade later, he studied at the University of Pittsburgh in the United States.

And yet, for the accidental appointment of Astakhov at the end of 2009, a place was vacated under rather mysterious circumstances. The previous Ombudsman Aleksey Golovan, according to official information, resigned of his own free will, but his colleagues were perplexed. “I can't even imagine what made him write such a statement,” said Ella Pamfilova, then head of the Presidential Council for the Promotion of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights. At the same time, a Kommersant source in the presidential administration emphasized that child protection is a priority for the president and “in this sense, Golovan was very consistent with the tasks set.”

Unlike Golovan, who came to the post of federal "children's" ombudsman from a similar post in Moscow and is known mainly in the professional environment, Astakhov has become a real guest star in the office of the commissioner. Since 2004, he has hosted the country's first court show, Hour of the Court, and several other television and radio programs. In addition, the media human rights activist published books on quite pressing legal issues: “How to get an inheritance” or “Consumer rights. Legal assistance from the peak of legal professionalism. " There is also fiction in the asset - the books "The Mayor", "The Producer" and the novel "Raider", on which they even made a movie.

In the professional world, however, lawyer Astakhov is known for other merits. For example, he defended the leadership of the Vlastilin financial pyramid and the American Edmond Pope, accused of espionage for the United States, and took part in the case of Vladimir Gusinsky, head of the Media-Most holding.

“There are two types of attorneys in American films. One is a well-groomed, sleek lawyer in a Tom Ford suit, with a touch of cynicism. The other is drinker, wrinkled, compassionate. Astakhov is the first type, ”Yevgeny Minchenko, president of the communication holding Minchenko Consulting, outlines the main problem of the now almost former children's ombudsman. - Astakhov still did not have the image correspondence of this position.

Actually, the position of the ombudsman for the rights of the child was formed “from below”, starting from the regional level. In 1998, the position was established in the Kaluga, Volgograd, Novgorod regions, as well as in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg: this happened as part of a pilot project of the Ministry of Social Development and the UNICEF Children's Fund. New subjects were gradually connected, and in September 2009 the position was brought to the federal level by a corresponding presidential decree.

Some sources explained the appointment of Astakhov by rather close relations with the entourage of the current Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev; subsequently, the ombudsman at least attended the events of the foundation, which works under the patronage of the prime minister's wife. But Minchenko does not agree: in his opinion, explaining the subsequent resignation by the weakening of one or another clan is too complicated and tense version. On the one hand, Astakhov has a really good relationship with lawyer Mikhail Barshchevsky, who is considered "a representative of Medvedev's group." On the other hand, the clan affiliation of a person in the current system is changing rapidly.

Replacing Golovan, who had worked in office for only a few months, Astakhov promised not to make any revolutions. The lack of an appropriate background did not bother the human rights activist. “My predecessor is a professional with extensive experience in protecting the rights of the child. I didn’t work with children, although I had been studying family law for sixteen years, so I look at the problem from a slightly different perspective, ”he told Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

According to Astakhov, it was “important for him to work with performers,” for example, law enforcement agencies, which also have to protect the rights of children, but do not want to “deal with other people's family squabbles”. Almost a year and a half after taking office, Astakhov presented to the president a report on the observance of the rights and interests of children in Russia. The document consisted of three volumes, one of which was in the format of a photo album. Colleagues of the human rights activist complained that the text of the report was not available to a wide audience.

Although this did not mean that the public was not familiar with Astakhov's activities. He published some of his statements on Instagram, for example, he offered to protect children from destructive information.

From time to time, he deviated a little from the sponsored topic, going into socio-economic issues. In particular, he called for the distribution of unclaimed products to the poor instead of destroying them.

Nevertheless, according to the presidential decree, the duties of the ombudsman look somewhat different and lie far beyond the media field. First of all, the Commissioner is focused on working with government agencies whose activities affect the interests and rights of children.

The decree says that the ombudsman has the right to request information from federal government bodies, independently or together with specialized structures to check the work of government agencies and officials, and also send them recommendations on the restoration of the violated rights of a child.

The human rights community rarely commented on the essence of Astakhov's work, and even more so on its compliance with official tasks. But on the other hand, my colleagues had image claims. Thus, a member of the European Institute of Ombudsman Seyran Davtyan in one of his publications criticized the tone of materials posted on the Ombudsman's website. “Pavel Astakhov gave the region a rating of 'good with a minus',” Davtyan quoted a post on the website from April 2011 regarding the visit of the ombudsman to the Pskov region.

“I don’t know what the style of the correspondence between the presidential ombudsman for children's rights and the ombudsman for children in the regions looks like, but the style of messages posted on the information website of the presidential ombudsman testifies to the feeling of superiority of the ombudsman P. Astakhov over his colleagues,” wrote Davtyan ...

The State Duma Committee on Ethics believes that Astakhov has "starred" in the last four years. “Recently, he has been behaving not like a children's ombudsman, but like a businessman, impudent, arrogant, not like a civil servant in such a high and responsible position, who must protect children, restore their violated rights,” said Lente.ru member of the committee Yan Zelinsky.

Astakhov's attributes of "stardom" were really visible. The magazine "7 Days" devoted detailed photo reports to his family. Astakhov complained that “in general from Moscow,” where they live with their middle son, did not leave for a long time. “I just hang out almost every weekend here, on the Cote d'Azur, otherwise, I'm afraid the kid will get out of the habit of me,” he shared with the magazine. And about the birth of his wife in France, he said that “we really occupied the largest room in the hospital,” where Angelina Jolie had given birth before.

“He is a wealthy man, a lawyer in the past, and this his personal well-being can be read in his eyes, in his statements and actions,” political scientist Dmitry Orlov admitted to Astakhov's image features in a conversation with Lenta.ru.

Evgeny Minchenko notes that Astakhov was already “held for a long time” in this position, although there was clearly something to fix in his work. According to the expert, at the next appointment, the image component should be taken into account. “Some compassionate middle-aged woman would come up here, such as Liza Glinka,” says Minchenko. "Or you can clone Pamfilov here."

Instead of Pamfilova, however, Senator Elena Mizulina has already been proposed: according to Irina Chirkova, a member of the Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, a woman must certainly be a children's ombudsman, and Mizulina can appeal both to the ruling party in parliament and to the executive structures.

Further political career for Astakhov does not yet shine, Minchenko is sure. The human rights activist did not make it to the party lists in the elections to the State Duma in time, and in single-mandate constituencies, where it is necessary to meet face to face with the voter, he has few chances. But the political scientist is not worried about the fate of the lawyer: “He is a rich man. Will not be lost. "

A source close to the Duma leadership for RBC and two interlocutors close to the Kremlin confirm. According to one of them, Astakhov wrote a letter of resignation.

Life.ru journalist Anastasia Kashevarova also reported on Astakhov's statement on her Facebook. She claims that, according to sources in the Russian presidential administration, Pavel Astakhov wrote a letter of resignation after he discovered a conflict of interest in connection with the activities of his son's company. She also noted that the question asked by Astakhov to children who survived on a lake in Karelia did not influence this decision.

The son of the child rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov Anton commented to Gazeta.Ru on the message about the possible resignation of the Ombudsman.

“To be honest, I can't really comment on it, since I'm not in Moscow myself. Obviously nothing is connected with me, this is utter nonsense. And you have to ask Pavel Alekseevich himself. If there were any things connected with me, I would be the first to know, ”said Anton Astakhov.

A source close to the Kremlin told RBC that many complaints have recently arisen against Astakhov. We are talking about his communication with the injured children, and about his statements about the "shriveled" women. " "The petition demanding the resignation has received more than 150 thousand signatures," - said the interlocutor of RBC.

“We do not confirm this information,” said Renat Abdeev, the adviser on information policy of the ombudsman for children's rights. - Now Pavel Astakhov is at an event at the Foreign Ministry together with the President "

So far, there have been no decrees about Astakhov, said presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov. He added that he had not seen the resignation letter from the commissioner.

Gazeta.Ru sources close to the Kremlin confirmed that Astakhov had already written a letter of resignation of his own free will. One of the sources linked the resignation to the recent high-profile scandals around Astakhov's statements. The final decision on dismissal will be made by President Vladimir Putin. “This has been discussed since Thursday morning. A presidential decree is expected in the near future. The Kremlin is discussing a list of five possible candidates for the position of the children's ombudsman, ”the source said.

The collection of signatures under the petition for the resignation of Pavel Astakhov continues on the Internet because of his phrase “Well, how did you swim?” In a conversation with children who survived on Syamozero in Karelia. More than 100 thousand people signed up for the demand. At the same time, the collection of signatures began against the resignation of the Ombudsman. Astakhov himself, after the publication of the petition, said that he would continue his work.

Earlier, in 2015, commenting on the wedding of the head of the Chechen police department and a 17-year-old girl, Pavel Astakhov said: “There are places where women are wrinkled at the age of 27, and by our standards they are under 50”. He later apologized for talking about "shriveled" women.

Miroslava Svetlaya

Pavel Astakhov, who is the children's ombudsman, is still dismissed. This information came on Saturday from a high-ranking source in the Kremlin. After the human rights activist, during a conversation with the children who suffered in Syamozero, inadvertently asked "How did you swim?", There was an immediate response demanding his dismissal. However, do not forget that similar punctures happened to him before. According to experts, this position is simply not suitable for Astakhov. Then how did he end up in this post and for what reason was he removed?

Meanwhile, a petition for the ombudsman's resignation continued to gain votes on change.org. The initiators called the reason for it a replica in a conversation with children who survived the storm on Syamozero. Astakhovskoe "Well, how did you swim?" in a matter of hours it turned into a meme and caused a wave of criticism against the ombudsman for the rights of the child.

By Sunday afternoon, when a Kremlin source had already determined the fate of the human rights activist, about 156,000 citizens had signed up for his resignation.

According to media reports, Astakhov admitted that he was "really seriously blown away" by the president for his inaccurate statement. But doctors rushed to the rescue, explaining that the would-be ombudsman acted in accordance with the recommendations of the psychologist. The human rights activist himself also referred to some special psychological techniques that were supposed to make the conversation with the injured children more relaxed.

But this is not Astakhov's first public puncture. He was immediately reminded of last year's statement in connection with the marriage of a minor in the Caucasus: "There are places where women are wrinkled at the age of 27 and by our standards they are under 50." Then the Internet was buzzing no less, and the official is being dismissed only now. So what happened - an inappropriate phrase against the background of the death of children overwhelmed the cup of patience, or are there any other reasons for dismissal?

In a Tom Ford suit, with a touch of cynicism

“It is unlikely that he quarreled with anyone,” says political analyst Yevgeny Minchenko. “I think that Astakhov found himself in this position quite by accident: there was a well-known media figure, with high recognition, he speaks smartly, and besides, a lawyer.” But according to the expert, it has now become clear that the child human rights activist "does not fulfill his main function." “Given the abundance of claims against him, he still did not fit into this role, did not merge with it,” Minchenko said.

In the biography of Astakhov, nothing really speaks in favor of the fact that the protection of the family and childhood was his vocation. His maternal grandfather worked in the state security agencies; the human rights activist himself graduated from the KGB High School in 1991. A decade later, he studied at the University of Pittsburgh in the United States.

And yet, for the accidental appointment of Astakhov at the end of 2009, a place was vacated under rather mysterious circumstances. The previous Ombudsman Aleksey Golovan, according to official information, resigned of his own free will, but his colleagues were perplexed. “I can't even imagine what made him write such a statement,” said Ella Pamfilova, then head of the Presidential Council for the Promotion of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights. At the same time, a Kommersant source in the presidential administration emphasized that child protection is a priority for the president and “in this sense, Golovan was very consistent with the tasks set.”

Former Children's Ombudsman Alexey Golovan

Unlike Golovan, who came to the post of federal "children's" ombudsman from a similar post in Moscow and is known mainly in the professional environment, Astakhov has become a real guest star in the office of the commissioner. Since 2004, he has hosted the country's first court show, Hour of the Court, and several other television and radio programs. In addition, the media human rights activist published books on quite pressing legal issues: “How to get an inheritance” or “Consumer rights. Legal assistance from the peak of legal professionalism. " There is also fiction in the asset - the books "The Mayor", "The Producer" and the novel "Raider", on which they even made a movie.

In the professional world, however, lawyer Astakhov is known for other merits. For example, he defended the leadership of the Vlastilin financial pyramid and the American Edmond Pope, accused of espionage for the United States, and took part in the case of Vladimir Gusinsky, head of the Media-Most holding.

“There are two types of attorneys in American films. One is a well-groomed, sleek lawyer in a Tom Ford suit, with a touch of cynicism. The other is drinker, wrinkled, compassionate. Astakhov is the first type, ”Yevgeny Minchenko, president of the communication holding Minchenko Consulting, outlines the main problem of the now almost former children's ombudsman. - Astakhov still did not have the image correspondence of this position.

Pavel Astakhov was the permanent host of the "Hour of the Court" program

Looked at the problem differently

Actually, the position of the ombudsman for the rights of the child was formed “from below”, starting from the regional level. In 1998, the position was established in the Kaluga, Volgograd, Novgorod regions, as well as in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg: this happened as part of a pilot project of the Ministry of Social Development and the UNICEF Children's Fund. New subjects were gradually connected, and in September 2009 the position was brought to the federal level by a corresponding presidential decree.

Some sources explained the appointment of Astakhov by rather close relations with the entourage of the current Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev; subsequently, the ombudsman at least attended the events of the foundation, which works under the patronage of the prime minister's wife. But Minchenko does not agree: in his opinion, explaining the subsequent resignation by the weakening of one or another clan is too complicated and tense version. On the one hand, Astakhov has a really good relationship with lawyer Mikhail Barshchevsky, who is considered "a representative of Medvedev's group." On the other hand, the clan affiliation of a person in the current system is changing rapidly.

Replacing Golovan, who had worked in office for only a few months, Astakhov promised not to make any revolutions. The lack of an appropriate background did not bother the human rights activist. “My predecessor is a professional with extensive experience in protecting the rights of the child. I didn’t work with children, although I had been studying family law for sixteen years, so I look at the problem from a slightly different perspective, ”he told Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

According to Astakhov, it was “important for him to work with performers,” for example, law enforcement agencies, which also have to protect the rights of children, but do not want to “deal with other people's family squabbles”. Almost a year and a half after taking office, Astakhov presented to the president a report on the observance of the rights and interests of children in Russia. The document consisted of three volumes, one of which was in the format of a photo album. Colleagues of the human rights activist complained that the text of the report was not available to a wide audience.

Although this did not mean that the public was not familiar with Astakhov's activities. He published some of his statements on Instagram, for example, he offered to protect children from destructive information.

From time to time, he deviated a little from the sponsored topic, going into socio-economic issues. In particular, he called for the distribution of unclaimed products to the poor instead of destroying them.

The position of Pavel Astakhov provided primarily for work with government agencies, but he also talked a lot with children.

Nevertheless, according to the presidential decree, the duties of the ombudsman look somewhat different and lie far beyond the media field. First of all, the Commissioner is focused on working with government agencies whose activities affect the interests and rights of children.

The decree says that the ombudsman has the right to request information from federal government bodies, independently or together with specialized structures to check the work of government agencies and officials, and also send them recommendations on the restoration of the violated rights of a child.

I'm just hanging out on the Cote d'Azur

The human rights community rarely commented on the essence of Astakhov's work, and even more so on its compliance with official tasks. But on the other hand, my colleagues had image claims. Thus, a member of the European Institute of Ombudsman Seyran Davtyan in one of his publications criticized the tone of materials posted on the Ombudsman's website. "Pavel Astakhov gave the region a rating of" good with a minus "," Davtyan quoted a post on the website from April 2011 about the visit of the ombudsman to the Pskov region.

“I don’t know what the style of the correspondence between the presidential ombudsman for the rights of the child and the ombudsman for children in the regions looks like, but the style of messages posted on the information site of the presidential ombudsman testifies to the feeling of superiority of the ombudsman P. Astakhov over his colleagues,” wrote Davtyan.

The State Duma Committee on Ethics believes that Astakhov has "starred" in the last four years. “Recently, he has been behaving not like a children's ombudsman, but like a businessman, impudent, arrogant, not like a civil servant in such a high and responsible position, who must protect children, restore their violated rights,” said Lente.ru member of the committee Yan Zelinsky.

Astakhov's attributes of "stardom" were really visible. The magazine "7 Days" devoted detailed photo reports to his family. Astakhov complained that “in general from Moscow,” where they live with their middle son, did not leave for a long time. “I just hang out almost every weekend here, on the Cote d'Azur, otherwise, I'm afraid the kid will get out of the habit of me,” he shared with the magazine. And about the birth of his wife in France, he said that “we really occupied the largest room in the hospital,” where Angelina Jolie had given birth before.

“He is a wealthy man, a lawyer in the past, and this his personal well-being can be read in his eyes, in his statements and actions,” political scientist Dmitry Orlov admitted to Astakhov's image features in a conversation with Lenta.ru.

Evgeny Minchenko notes that Astakhov was already “held for a long time” in this position, although there was clearly something to fix in his work. According to the expert, at the next appointment, the image component should be taken into account. “Some compassionate middle-aged woman would come up here, such as Liza Glinka,” says Minchenko. "Or you can clone Pamfilov here."

Instead of Pamfilova, however, Senator Elena Mizulina has already been proposed: according to Irina Chirkova, a member of the Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, a woman must certainly be a children's ombudsman, and Mizulina can appeal both to the ruling party in parliament and to the executive structures.

Showman Pavel Astakhov in the position of children's ombudsman is replaced by a modest United Russia philanthropist Anna Kuznetsova. The President continues to change the showcase of power, removing irritants of public opinion. Amateurs are no longer needed in politics.

The ombudsman for the rights of the child still resigned. She was replaced, before she worked as the head of the Penza branch of the Popular Front and the head of the Association of Companies in Defense of the Family and the Pokrov Fund for the Support of Family, Motherhood and Childhood.

Quite an unexpected choice, but on the other hand - firstly, Anna Kuznetsova's "Pokrov" was the operator of the distribution of presidential grants, secondly, she won the primaries of United Russia in the Penza region, thirdly, she is married to a priest and a mother of six children. In social networks, they congratulate her, referring to "mother Anna". It fits perfectly into the framework of the requirements now imposed by the state on public figures.

Pavel Astakhov also, as they say, "corresponded": he graduated from the Higher School of the KGB of the USSR. But in the future he was a purely secular person; having made a name as a lawyer, on the job he retrained as a showman, becoming a TV show host and writer. In 2007, he was keenly aware of the wind of change and realized that it was time to lead the For Putin movement. The next year he became a member of the Public Chamber, a year later, in 2009, he was appointed to the post of children's ombudsman under the president.

They were surprised at the appointment, but what is there to be surprised at - at that time, demonstrative loyalty and a history of special services were valued above all else. Pavel Astakhov himself clearly felt in perfect order and perceived his work as a service, first of all, a state service, and not a human rights one. Everyone should implement the general line in his place, and if you got the sphere of child protection, then in the sphere of child protection, something like this.

The pinnacle of Pavel Astakhov's work was, of course, the law banning the adoption of Russian orphans, first by Americans, and then by citizens of other countries that have joined the sanctions. "Any foreign adoption is harmful to the country," the children's ombudsman said categorically and devoted his activities to looking for cases of violation of the rights of adopted Russians in the United States, each time making loud statements. Sometimes, however, he got into a puddle: for example, he accused the American family of torturing and murdering Maxim Kuzmin, and then it turned out that there was an accident. Pavel Astakhov just shrugged his shoulders.

In addition, he was remembered for his PR. Visiting the Chechen Republic, Pavel Astakhov did not skimp on enthusiasm and praise for the "blessed land of Chechnya", which he sets as a "good example" in all other regions. His love for Ramzan Kadyrov later brought him to a scandal: while the public was vigorously discussing the wedding of the elderly chief of the police department, Nazhid Guchigov, with the underage Kheda Goilabieva (according to some sources, he took her second wife), Astakhov rushed to defend the mountain customs, stating that In the Caucasus, in general, puberty occurs earlier and "there are places where women are already shriveled at 27 years old." With this phrase, he blamed himself throughout the country,.

The last straw was a tactless question to schoolchildren who survived the tragedy on Syamozero in Karelia. Killed 14 children caught in a storm on boats, and Pavel Astakhov did not find anything better than to ask: "Well, how did you swim?" This episode aroused anger (the ombudsman himself confirmed that he was "blown in by the president"), and it was after a meeting with Putin, at the very end of June, that Astakhov submitted his resignation letter, which was only satisfied now.

In principle, Vladimir Putin himself allowed himself such remarks. In 2003, while visiting a children's hospital (coincidentally, in the capital of Karelia, Petrozavodsk), he said to a boy on crutches who was hit by a car: "Well, you won't break the rule anymore." Journalist Elena Tregubova spoke about this.

Because of one phrase, an official who had served faithfully for so many years could hardly be dismissed. The President did not care about his previous shocking statements, did not care about criticism of human rights activists, did not care about demonstrative consumption - Pavel Astakhov has a chic estate in Nice, which he does not hide, against the background of which his constant anti-Western attacks looked utterly cynical and hypocritical.

Rather, it is a convenient pretext - lately the president has been reformatting the "showcase" of power, replacing not everyone, but those who are in sight and who are the main objects of criticism. replaces, -, Pavel Astakhov - Anna Kuznetsova. All the dismissed were marked by odious foreign policy statements, their successors are not connected with the KGB, they will only deal with their direct responsibilities and will not go anywhere with their opinions.

Politics will now be dealt with by Putin himself and a narrow circle of professionals, perhaps one or two more people. Volunteers are no longer needed; the situation is too complicated, and amateurs, whose mistakes are sometimes costly, began to annoy the president.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Pavel Astakhov from the post of Commissioner for Children's Rights. This was reported on the Kremlin website. The text of the decree notes that Astakhov left the post of his own free will.

The President appointed Anna Kuznetsova, head of the executive committee of the Penza ONF, to the post of children's ombudsman. The message indicates that before the appointment, Putin had a meeting with Kuznetsova.

"Life is a sacred gift"

Anna Kuznetsova is the organizer (since 2008) and curator of the "Life is a Sacred Gift" program in the Penza region. The program includes activities to reduce abortions and promote traditional family values. The Pokrov Foundation, founded by Kuznetsova, is holding a regional competition among antenatal clinics “In Defense of Life”. At the presentation of this competition in 2013, Kuznetsova urged the leaders of these structures "to come out with posters against abortion."

Anna Kuznetsova is 34 years old and has six children. Kuznetsova is the head of the Pokrov charitable foundation, which helps seriously ill children, supports needy, low-income families and children from disadvantaged families, as well as facilitates the adoption of children from orphanages. This year, the Pokrov Foundation has become one of the operators that distributes presidential grants. Based on the results of four competitions, this year the foundation will distribute grants in the amount of 420 million rubles. for projects on consulting, educational support of SONPO, popularization of the best practices of socially significant projects of non-profit organizations, assistance in increasing the mobility of labor resources and the development of public control mechanisms.

The interlocutor of Vedomosti in the Public Chamber says that at least four candidates were considered for this position, including the head of the Fair Help fund Elizaveta Glinka, actress and co-founder of the Give Life fund Chulpan Khamatova and the head of the Volunteers to Help Children for orphans "Elena Alshanskaya, the president chose Anna Kuznetsova:" This is a fairly obvious candidate, quite accurately falling into the image and set of competencies necessary for the Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child. "

Political analyst Yevgeny Minchenko believes that "Kuznetsova has little chance of being liked by the capital's liberal beau monde." “From the provinces, ONF, six children, they say that they are married to a priest. That is, traditional values ​​as they are. And for the majority of Putin, it’s just that. Well, the experience of working with children, work in a charitable foundation, a successful performance at the primaries of United Russia speaks in favor of the new children's ombudsman, "he says.

Political analyst Konstantin Kalachev says that "the photographs show how Kuznetsova is appealing to the first persons." “She contains those qualities that appeal to high management: intelligent, charismatic, at the same time modest, loyal, patriotic, socially active. At the same time, her public activity does not go beyond the framework when it is perceived as a challenge, she is absolutely systemic - the ONF, the Pokrov Foundation, participation in the primaries of United Russia. Kalachev believes that she will be able to find a common language “with both patriotic and liberal communities”: “Someone will say about breaking the template - the wife of a priest, someone may say that six children can interfere with fulfilling duties. The only thing that the liberal community can blame is its relationship with the ONF and United Russia, but there is no other way to make a career in these times. "

Astakhov in his Instagram congratulated Kuznetsova on the appointment and wished her God's help. “Anna Kuznetsova has been appointed Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights. This is a very worthy person and a very wise choice of the President. I sincerely congratulate Anna Yurievna and wish her the help of God in this difficult field! " - he wrote.

Information that Astakhov wrote a letter of resignation appeared at the end of June. Later, the presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed his departure, but Astakhov was sent on vacation until September 8, his 50th birthday.

This decision of the president followed the scandal caused by Astakhov's question to the teenage girls who survived the tragedy on Syamozero: "Well, how did you swim?" The incident then killed 14 children. A petition was posted on the Change.org website demanding Astakhov's resignation.

The media also reported that the Kremlin had complaints against the anti-corruption ombudsman, in particular, it was about a conflict of interest due to the son's business. According to SPARK-Interfax, Anton Astakhov owns 8.48% of the Regional Development Bank (RBR, license revoked on November 10, 2015), 9.65% of Zerich Bank (license revoked on February 26, 2016) and 9 % "Ankor Savings Bank". In addition, he is associated with several legal entities, including the Legal Center of Pavel Astakhov. Izvestia wrote that in 2014 the RBR "began to serve the office of the ombudsman for the rights of the child, accumulating donations to families with children in the south-east of Ukraine, as well as keeping accounts of the Sevastopol treasury."

Pavel Astakhov has been in office since 2009. He opposed the lessons of sexuality education in schools, supported the adoption of the “Dima Yakovlev law,” and spoke out in favor of abandoning the moratorium on the death penalty.