{{Short description|Russian lawyer and politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Pavel Astakhov | native_name = {{nobold|Павел Астахов}} | native_name_lang = ru | image = Youth parliament (2013-11-20) 04.jpg | image_size = | alt = | order = | office = Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation | term_start = 30 December 2009 | term_end = 9 September 2016 | president = Dmitry Medvedev | predecessor = Alexei Golovan | successor = Anna Kuznetsova | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1966|9|8}} | birth_place = Moscow, USSR | citizenship = Russia | spouse = Svetlana Astakhova | children = Anton, Artem and Arseni (sons) | alma_mater = Dzerzhinsky KGB Higher School <br />University of Pittsburgh | occupation = Politician, lawyer, television personality | profession = Lawyer | academic degree = | website = http://english.rfdeti.ru/ | caption = Astakhov in 2013 }}

'''Pavel Alekseyevich Astakhov''' ({{langx|ru|Па́вел Алексе́евич Аста́хов}}; born 8 September 1966<ref name=bio/>) is a Russian politician, lawyer and television personality.<ref name=nyt/>

On 30 December 2009 Dmitry Medvedev appointed Astakhov to the position of the Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation (children's ombudsman).<ref name=bio/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/eur/136054.htm |title=2009 Human Rights Report: Russia |date=11 March 2010 |work=Official website of the US Department of State |access-date=22 April 2012}}</ref> He resigned in September 2016 after facing severe criticism due to his comments on the death of 14 children in a shipwreck.<ref name=yle210916>{{cite web | url = http://yle.fi/uutiset/venajalla_huolestuttiin_jalleen_lasten_huostaanotoista_suomessa/9181876 | title =Venäjällä huolestuttiin jälleen lasten huostaanotoista Suomessa | author = Heikki Heiskanen| date = 21 September 2016| work = Yle.fi, News| access-date= 22 May 2017 |language = fi }}</ref>

He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.<ref>{{cite act|type=Decree|index=1710|date=29 December 2011|legislature=President of Russia|title=О присвоении классного чина государственной гражданской службы Российской Федерации Астахову П.А.|language=ru|url=http://pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?searchres=&bpas=cd00000&a3=102000503&a3type=1&a3value=&a6=102000070&a6type=1&a6value=&a15=&a15type=1&a15value=&a7type=1&a7from=&a7to=&a7date=29.12.2011&a8=1710&a8type=1&a1=&a0=&a16=&a16type=1&a16value=&a17=&a17type=1&a17value=&a4=&a4type=1&a4value=&a23=&a23type=1&a23value=&textpres=&sort=7&x=71&y=18}}</ref>

==Education==

Astakhov graduated from the law faculty of the Dzerzhinsky KGB School in Moscow in 1991.<ref name=bio/><ref name=rp/> In 2002 he received a Master of Laws from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.<ref name=bio>{{cite web |url=http://english.rfdeti.ru/content.php?id=12 |title=Pavel A. Astakhov |work=Official website of the Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation |access-date=7 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309110944/http://english.rfdeti.ru/content.php?id=12 |archive-date=9 March 2012}}</ref> In 2006 Astakhov received a Doctor of Laws in Russia. Firstly the community Dissernet, then the Russian State Library tested his doctoral thesis for plagiarism and discovered that only 0.68% of the text was original work, the remainder having been copy-pasted from other sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cook.livejournal.com/254442.html |title=Cook: Павел Астахов попал под последний поезд |access-date=29 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140128063135/http://cook.livejournal.com/254442.html |archive-date=28 January 2014}}</ref><ref>[http://wiki.dissernet.org/index.php/DISSERNET.ORG:Ast2006 Published results of the expertise of Pavel Astakhov’s thesis on Dissernet server] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314160127/http://wiki.dissernet.org/index.php/DISSERNET.ORG:Ast2006 |date=14 March 2014 }}</ref>

He speaks English, Swedish, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and French as well as Russian.<ref name=rp>{{cite web |url=http://russiaprofile.org/background/resources_whoiswho_alphabet_a_astakhov/print_edition/ |title=Astakhov, Pavel Alekseyevich |date=9 July 2010 |work=Russia Profile |access-date=7 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227094235/http://russiaprofile.org/background/resources_whoiswho_alphabet_a_astakhov/print_edition/ |archive-date=27 February 2012}}</ref>

==Lawyer==

Astakhov began practising law in 1991.<ref name=rp/> In 1994 he became a member of the Moscow Bar and set up his own law firm, which has been known since 2003 as "Pavel Astakhov Lawyers Board".<ref name=rp/> Astakhov represented some of Russia's most high-profile public figures, including Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, the descendants of the Romanov dynasty, several Russian pop-stars and others.<ref name=rp/>

===Edmond Pope=== The first case which gave prominence to Pavel Astakhov was that of Edmond Pope. On 5 April 2000, Pope, a retired US naval intelligence officer, was arrested in Moscow by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) after making contact with a Russian torpedo scientist. Pope was charged with espionage, seeking plans for the high-speed underwater VA-111 Shkval missile.

Edmond Pope was only the second American in 40 years to stand trial for espionage in Moscow. The first, Francis Gary Powers, the pilot of a U-2 spy plane that was shot down in 1960, was exchanged for a convicted Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel.

In December 2000, Astakhov surprised the court hearing the case by delivering his closing arguments in verse.<ref name=pope/> He read out a 12-page lyric he had composed in iambic pentameters, urging the court to acquit Pope.<ref name=pope>{{cite news |title=US 'spy' defended in verse |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1050566.stm |newspaper=BBC World Service |date=1 December 2000 |access-date=7 March 2012}}</ref> The court was not impressed by Astakhov's poetry skills and Pope received a 20-year jail sentence; he was later pardoned by Vladimir Putin and was flown back to US.<ref>{{cite news |title=American Jailed as Spy in Moscow Is Freed on Putin's Orders; U.S. Welcomes Gesture |first=Sabrina |last=Tavernise |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/15/world/american-jailed-as-spy-in-moscow-is-freed-on-putin-s-orders-us-welcomes-gesture.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm |newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 December 2000 |access-date=7 March 2012}}</ref>

===Vladimir Gusinsky===

In 2000–2001 Pavel Astakhov helped Russian media tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky to escape two fraud charges.

On 13 June 2000, Gusinsky was arrested on charges of stealing property worth more than $10&nbsp;million from the state-owned "Russian Video" company, but three days later, after a petition by Astakhov, Gusinsky was released on bail. Later, Astakhov and another prominent lawyer, Henri Reznik, managed to halt the criminal case against Gusinsky, who flew to Spain. Another case was opened on 17 September, alleging the embezzlement of $300&nbsp;million from Gazprom, and on 17 November prosecutors reopened the first case. Gusinsky was arrested in Spain on an international arrest warrant on 12 December.<ref>{{cite news |title=Will Russia get Gusinsky? |author=Lannin, Patrick |author2=Hayley, Julia |url=http://www.news24.com/xArchive/Archive/Will-Russia-get-Gusinsky-20001213# |work=News24 |date=14 December 2000 |access-date=7 March 2012}}</ref> On 22 December he was released on bail of 1&nbsp;billion pesetas ($5.5&nbsp;million).

Pavel Astakhov and Gusinsky's defence team claimed that the charges were politically motivated, and on 24 April 2001 the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon declined to extradite Gusinsky to Russia.

Following his role in the Pope and Gusinsky cases, Astakhov was invited to the US to participate in a round table organized by the US Congress. He spent the following year in Pittsburgh completing a Master's in Law.

===Saddam Hussein===

In December 2003, Pavel Astakhov sent a letter to the US Embassy in Moscow, advising President George W. Bush and Ambassador Alexander Vershbow that he would like to represent the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.<ref name=shm>{{cite news |title=News in Brief: Lawyer Chases Hussein |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-19782633_ITM |newspaper=The Moscow Times |date=19 December 2003 |access-date=7 March 2012}}</ref> Asked by a reporter whether he was prepared to defend Saddam Hussein free of charge, Astakhov replied: "I do not think that the former president of Iraq will agree to accept free legal aid".<ref>{{cite news |first=Наташа |last=Ваульс |script-title=ru:Адвокаты дьявола |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/press/newsid_3329000/3329565.stm |work=BBC Russian Service |date=18 December 2003 |access-date=9 March 2012 |language= ru |trans-title=Devil's Advocates }}</ref> Saddam Hussein, however, did not have a chance to use Astakhov's services.

==TV personality and author==

In 2003 Astakhov became the host of ''Chas Suda'' (''Hour of Judgment'') which aired on the REN TV channel.<ref name=nyt/><ref name=rp/> It was the first Russian judge show. Unlike ''Judge Judy'' in the US, both parties in these trials are played by actors, with Astakhov acting as judge. The show became enormously popular and Astakhov set up a production company, Pravo TV, to make other programs with a legal theme.<ref name=rp/>

Astakhov is also a prolific author, writing about his experiences in the Moscow legal system, as well as producing a series of novels featuring lawyer protagonists.<ref name=rp/>

==Politician==

In the early days of Vladimir Putin, Astakhov was a trenchant critic of the Russian authorities, accusing them of political persecution of his clients, Vladimir Gusinsky and Edmond Pope. He spoke of a "total disregard for human rights" and claimed that the prosecutors "blindly execute the wishes of the authorities".<ref name=anti>{{cite news |script-title=ru:Адвокат Эдмонда Поупа и Владимира Гусинского стал "Почетным адвокатом России" |url=http://www.newsru.com/russia/06aug2001/astakhov_print.html |work=NEWSru |date=6 August 2001 |access-date=7 March 2012 |language=ru}}</ref>

Later Astakhov made a 180-degree turn in his political affiliation and became one of the most prominent supporters of the top leadership of Russia. In November 2007 he founded and headed the national movement ''Za Putina'' (For Putin).<ref>{{cite news |title=United Behind a Putin Third Term |first=Natalya |last=Krainova |url=http://www.pressmon.com/cgi-bin/press_view.cgi?id=265728 |newspaper=Moscow Times |date=12 November 2007 |access-date=7 March 2012 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203611/http://www.pressmon.com/cgi-bin/press_view.cgi?id=265728 |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the founding conference, Astakhov described the aim of the new movement as follows: "Don't we choose a master in the house? Well, here we are proposing to find a master for the country."<ref>{{cite news |title=Fans want Putin to stay in power |url=http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/printArticle.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=184968&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21 |agency=Interfax |newspaper=Gulf Times |date=16 November 2007 |access-date=7 March 2012}}</ref>

== Family == Married since 1987a. Spouse, Svetlana Alexandrovna Astakhova (born 13 September 1968) — general producer of several TV programs of her husband: "The Hour of the Trial", "Three Corners", "The Astakhov Case".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hobbygaiety.com/10828969-pavel-astakhov39s-wife-photo|title=Pavel Astakhov's Wife: Photo|website=hobbygaiety.com|access-date=22 November 2022|archive-date=22 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122080806/https://hobbygaiety.com/10828969-pavel-astakhov39s-wife-photo|url-status=dead}}</ref> Has three sons and five grandchildren.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cosmeton.ru/znamenitosti-krasota/pavel-astahov-syn-arsenij.html|title=Астахов Павел Алексеевич, адвокат: биография, личная жизнь, карьера|website=cosmeton.ru|access-date=22 November 2022}}</ref> On 21 November 2022, one of the sons, Anton Astakhov, was sentenced by the Frunzensky District Court of the city of Saratov to 3.5 years{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} in a general regime colony under part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud committed by an organized group or on a particularly large scale). According to investigators, Anton Astakhov committed the theft of 75 million rubles from Saratov Nizhnevolzhsky Commercial Bank.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kp.ru/online/news/5019492/|title=Сына бывшего детского омбудсмена Астахова приговорили к 3,5 годам колонии за мошенничество|website=www.kp.ru|date=21 November 2022}}</ref>

==Children's Commissioner==

On 30 December 2009 President Medvedev appointed Astakhov as Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation,<ref name=bio/> a post often referred to as children's ombudsman.<ref name=rp/> At the time of his appointment, Astakhov was one of Russia's leading private lawyers, but he did not have a child welfare background.<ref name=nyt/> His predecessor and the first holder of the office, Alexei Golovan, had resigned unexpectedly on 26 December, just months after his appointment.<ref>[http://www.bearr.org/news_items/view/111 Bearr Trust] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120728101316/http://www.bearr.org/news_items/view/111 |date=28 July 2012 }} report of Golovan resignation</ref> (Golovan remained involved in child rights issues and was in 2012 involved in the development of legislation to protect the rights of children in orphanages.)<ref>[http://www.bearr.org/en/news_items/view/622 Bearr Trust] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120719003815/http://www.bearr.org/en/news_items/view/622 |date=19 July 2012 }} report on orphanages Bill</ref>

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".<ref name=wp>{{cite news |title=Pavel Astakhov, star of courtroom and TV, is Russia's ombudsman for children |first=Philip |last=Pan |author-link=Philip Pan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/05/AR2010050505236.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=6 May 2010 |access-date=7 March 2012}}</ref> In April 2010 Astakhov described child advocacy groups as the "best form of legalisation of the paedophile community".<ref>{{cite news |script-title=ru:Павел Астахов: Гей-парады навязывает педофильское лобби |first=Лев |last=Сирин |url=http://www.fontanka.ru/2010/04/19/079/ |newspaper=Фонтанка.ру |date=19 April 2010 |access-date=7 March 2012 |language=ru}}</ref>

===International Adoption=== As ombudsman Astakhov sought to raise awareness of the welfare of Russian children adopted by foreign families.<ref name=rp/> Some of Astakhov's critics alleged that he paid too much attention to the abuse cases after international adoptions and not enough to child abuse cases in Russia itself, where some 2,000 children were killed every year as a result of domestic child abuse.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} President Medvedev told Astakhov in December 2011: "I think that we cannot make any distinction here between cases abroad and cases at home. These are all crimes, serious crimes."<ref name=president>{{cite web |title=Working meeting with Pavel Astakhov and Yury Chaika |url=http://eng.kremlin.ru/news/3160 |work=Official website of the President of Russia |date=3 December 2011 |access-date=22 April 2012}}</ref>

Astakhov was deeply involved in the preparation of the Russian-US treaty on adoption, signed by the US Secretary of State and the Foreign Minister of Russia on 13 July 2011.<ref name=treaty/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/07/168478.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718115215/http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/07/168478.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 July 2011 |title=Remarks With Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov After their Meeting |date=13 July 2011 |work=Official website of the US Department of State |access-date=22 April 2012}}</ref> This treaty bans the independent adoption of Russian children, leaving adoption through agencies as the only option.<ref name=treaty>{{cite news |script-title=ru:Усыновление скрепили договором |author=Берсенева, Анастасия |author2=Карелин, Дмитрий |url=http://www.gazeta.ru/social/2011/07/13/3694881.shtml |newspaper=Gazeta.ru |date=14 July 2011 |access-date=7 March 2012 |language=ru}}</ref> American citizens who wish to adopt a child from Russia through an agency must pay $40–50 thousand<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theadoptionguide.com/options/adoption-from-russia |title=Adoption from Russia |work=The Adoption Guide |publisher=Adoptive Families magazine |access-date=3 March 2012 |archive-date=16 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616160800/http://www.theadoptionguide.com/options/adoption-from-russia |url-status=dead }}</ref> whereas for Russian citizens the procedures are completely free of charge. Moreover, adoptive parents in many Russian regions receive financial aid from the regional authorities, which sometimes amount to RUR 300 thousand (about $10 thousand) per child.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usynovite.ru/massmedia/6e7aa78b8e.html |script-title=ru:Приемные семьи Кубани получат по 300 тысяч рублей |work=Усыновление в России |publisher=Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation |access-date=7 March 2012 |language=ru}}</ref>

President Medvedev told Pavel Astakhov on 3 December 2011: "There is nothing wrong with foreign adoptions of our children. The fact that foreign citizens do it does not tarnish them in any way, and on the contrary shows their desire to help these children."<ref name=president/> However, two weeks later, at Vladimir Putin's annual question and answer session with the public, broadcast live across Russia, Astakhov declared himself "an absolute opponent of international adoption"<ref name=ast/> and asked Putin to change the law and to ban all international adoptions in Russia.<ref name=ast>{{cite web |url=http://www.moskva-putinu.ru/ |script-title=ru:Разговор с Владимиром Путиным. Продолжение |publisher=All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company |date=15 December 2011 |access-date=7 March 2012 |language=ru |archive-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601124911/http://www.moskva-putinu.ru/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> "We must, as much as possible, keep our children in our country," Astakhov said in April 2010.<ref>{{cite news |title=Quotes of the Day |url=http://www.time.com/time/quotes/0,26174,1982523,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420222123/http://www.time.com/time/quotes/0,26174,1982523,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 April 2010 |magazine=Time |date=16 April 2010 |access-date=21 April 2012}}</ref>

In April 2012 Astakhov suggested that Russian citizens should apply to adopt US children,<ref>{{cite news |script-title=ru:Астахов призвал россиян принципиально усыновлять американских детей |url=http://vz.ru/news/2012/4/16/574696.html |work=Взгляд |date=16 April 2012 |access-date=21 April 2012 |language=ru}}</ref> although there were still 665,987 orphans in Russia itself according to the latest statistics<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usynovite.ru/statistics/2010/2/ |script-title=ru:Устройство детей, оставшихся без попечения родителей, в 2010 году |work=Усыновление в России |publisher=Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation |access-date=21 April 2012 |language=ru}}</ref> and the number of adoptions in Russia had been falling each year since 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usynovite.ru/statistics/2010/3/ |script-title=ru:Динамика устройства детей в семьи |work=Усыновление в России |publisher=Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation |access-date=21 April 2012 |language=ru}}</ref>

In February 2012 Astakhov announced that in the next 5–8 years most of Russian orphanages and boarding schools would be shut down, and their residents adopted by Russian foster families.<ref name=orphanages/> He said that more state funds "should be allocated to foster families" to "give a fresh impetus to foster parents to adopt a child... Russia without Orphans slogan should become one of the top priorities for the government and public servants".<ref name=orphanages>{{cite news |title=Most orphanages to be closed in Russia, children to be adopted |url=http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/353743.html |agency=ITAR-TASS News Agency |date=28 February 2012 |access-date=21 April 2012}}</ref>

Some experts, however, pointed out that Astakhov's reliance on financial incentives had led to an increasing number of children being returned to orphanages.<ref name=bum/> According to the report of the chairwoman of the Russian parliamentary committee on family and children Yelena Mizulina in April 2010, thousands of children had been taken in by foster parents for financial reasons, and subsequently rejected after the financial assistance had been paid.<ref name=bum>{{cite news |script-title=ru:В России начался "бум возврата" приемных детей |url=http://www.deti.rian.ru/usynovlenie/20100423/200018500.html |agency=RIA Novosti |date=23 April 2010 |access-date=21 April 2012 |language=ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004213201/http://www.deti.rian.ru/usynovlenie/20100423/200018500.html |archive-date=4 October 2013}}</ref> Mizulina said that 30,000 children had been sent back to institutions by their Russian adoptive, foster or guardianship families in the last three years: "Specialists call such a boom in returns a humanitarian catastrophe".<ref name=bum/><ref name=mizulina>{{cite news |first=Clifford J. |last=Levy |author-link=Clifford J. Levy |title=Russian Orphanage Offers Love, but Not Families |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/world/europe/04adopt.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=3 May 2010 |access-date=21 April 2012}}</ref>

Despite the grave Russian domestic statistics of disruption of adoptions, Pavel Astakhov drew media attention to the case of a 7-year-old, Artem Saveliev (Justin Hansen), who was adopted in 2009 by the Tennessee nurse Torry Hansen, but in April 2010 was sent back to Russia with a note saying that he was "mentally unstable".<ref name=nyt>{{cite news |first=Clifford J. |last=Levy |author-link=Clifford J. Levy |title=Russia Seeks Ways to Keep Its Children |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/world/europe/16adopt.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=15 April 2010 |access-date=21 April 2012}}</ref> Astakhov used this case to call for more restrictions on international adoptions in Russia.<ref name=nyt/>

===Child Marriage=== In 2015, Astakhov defended the marriage of a 47-year-old police chief to 17-year-old Luiza "Kheda" Goilabiyeva in Chechnya. There were widespread reports that Goilabiyeva had been threatened with kidnap and violence if she did not agree to marry Nazhud Guchigov,<ref name=sydney>{{cite news |title=Ally of Chechen strongman marries teen| url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/ally-of-chechen-strongman-marries-teen-20150517-gh3s74.html | newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=18 May 2015 |access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref><ref name=novaya>{{cite news |title=В Чечне начальник РОВД женился на 17-летней Луизе Гойлабиевой |url=http://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/1693839.html |newspaper=Novaya Gazeta |date=16 May 2015 |access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref> though she later gave an interview with LifeNews where she stated that she had married Guchigov of her own free will.<ref name=Life>{{cite news |title=Луиза Гойлабиева рассказала LifeNews о предстоящей свадьбе |url=http://lifenews.ru/news/153777 |date=12 May 2015 |access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref> Although the marriage contravened Russian laws on polygamy and the legal age of adulthood, Astakhov defended the marriage, saying that "sexual maturity happens earlier [in the Caucasus]" and "there are places where women are already shriveled at age 27, and by our standards they look like they're 50."<ref name=rferl>{{cite news |title=Russian official stirs scandal with underage marriage and 'shriveled' women remarks |first=Carl |last=Schreck |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-underage-marriage-shriveled-women/27017059.html |date=14 May 2015 |access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref> His comments prompted many women to post photographs of their wrinkles under the hashtag #сморщеннаяженщина (#wrinkledwoman).<ref name=wrinkledwomen>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wonderzine.com/wonderzine/life/news/213693-smorschennaya|title = В инстаграме набирает обороты акция #сморщеннаяженщина|date = 17 May 2015}}</ref> The focus of the issue has since become child marriage,<ref name=meduza>{{cite news |title=Russia's 'wedding of the century' The country's rage about a 17-year-old girl marrying a 47-year-old Chechen police chief |url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2015/05/18/russia-s-wedding-of-the-century |date=18 May 2015 |access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref> with Astakhov asserting that "you should not be worried about early marriages … but about the early sex life of teenagers. The two need to be kept separate. Romeo and Juliet dreamed of getting married, not of intimate relations."<ref name=shrivelled>{{cite news |title=Russian official causes outrage with 'shrivelled women' remarks |last=Walker |first=Shaun |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/15/russian-official-shrivelled-women-marriage |date=15 May 2015 |access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref>

== See also == * Rantala incident * Anton incident

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120221001345/http://english.rfdeti.ru/ Official website] of the Russian Children's Rights Commissioner * {{Twitter|name=Official account of Pavel Astakhov}}

{{Adopt}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astakhov, Pavel}} Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:1st class Active State Councillors of the Russian Federation Category:Children's ombudsmen Category:Ombudsmen in Russia Category:Russian politicians Category:Lawyers from Moscow Category:Russian television personalities Category:University of Pittsburgh School of Law alumni Category:REN TV Category:Honoured Lawyers of the Russian Federation