A few days ago, Boris Bondarev (41) resigned from the position of Russian diplomat. He explained his reasons in a letter. He wrote that the powerful Kremlins would only wage war in order to “be able to live forever in pompous, tasteless palaces and sail on yachts”, he wrote about “catastrophic lies and unprofessionalism” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for whom he worked for over two decades and criticized the minister of foreign affairs Sergey Lavrov (72). His conclusion on the war: “I’ve never been so ashamed of my country being Russian before.”
He made his letter public, shared it on social media and sent it to colleagues. Since then, he has been living in fear. He is afraid of the anger of the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin (69). Known for prosecuting, arresting and even killing critics.
Bondarev worked in Geneva as an adviser to the United Nations and is still in Switzerland. And enjoy full protection here. It is guarded 24 hours a day by the Geneva cantonal police and the federal police, Tages-Anzeiger reports.
“Mr. Bondarev is against us”
The federal police are responsible for protecting foreign diplomats. While Bondarev will lose this status, protection will not end automatically. Fedpol said it would be given a “courtesy period” upon completion of the work. This usually takes two months. Bondarev can therefore count on police protection for at least as long as the Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) deems it necessary.
There is no doubt about it. Bondarev did not reveal any secrets in his letter and told Tages-Anzeiger that he had not done anything illegal. So far, there is no indication that he was a Russian spy. But only he and the Kremlin know what information the diplomat has received in more than two decades of his work.
Just in case, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov (54) told journalists on Tuesday: “It can probably only be said that Mr. Bondarev no longer belongs to us – rather, that he is against us.”
No special asylum rights
Bondarev has already said that he will not return to Russia. He would have had to fear a trial there, no guarantee it would be fair. Instead he wants to look for a job, says “Tages-Anzeiger”.
Hopefully she will stay in Switzerland. After all, it probably has to do mainly with whether or not he will be granted asylum here. He can apply for it, but he has no special powers in this regard, said Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (61) at WEF in Davos GR.