Russia's children's ombudsman, Pavel Astakhov, has been dismissed from his post by Russian President Vladimir Putin after months of mounting public pressure.
Astakhov triggered widespread outrage across Russia in June when he asked a young survivor of a boating disaster: “How was your swim?”
The accident at a Karelian summer camp had claimed
the lives of 14 children.
Russian media reported in July that Astakhov was
to leave his post after “a brief holiday” when a public petition
calling for his resignation gathered more than 150,000 signatures.
He is to be replaced by Anna Kuznetsova, the
president of children's charity “Pokrov.”
Pokrov runs projects in support of families with disabled
children, large families, and families who wish to adopt. It also
runs an anti-abortion program.
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