Vitaly S. Smirnov

Vitaly Smirnov
Vitaly Smirnov
Віталь Смірноў
Ambassador to Pakistan
	In office; 11 July 1980 – 16 May 1985
Preceded by	Sarvar Azimov
Succeeded by	Abdurrahman Vazirov
Ambassador to Bangladesh
	In office; 14 October 1988 – 21 March 1991
Preceded by	Vladimir Belyayev
Succeeded by	Yuri Alekseyev
Personal details
Born	16 February 1930; Sutoki, Lyozna district, Vitebsk region, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	1 November 2007 (aged 77); Minsk, Belarus

Vitaly Stepanovich Smirnov (Belarusian: Віталь Сцяпанавіч Смірноў, 16 February 1930 – 1 November 2007) was a Soviet and Belarusian diplomat. He served as the Soviet ambassador to Pakistan during the 1980s. His tenure was characterized by several notable events in Pakistan–USSR relations, including the Soviet–Afghan War and the Badaber uprising in Peshawar in 1985.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^{[self-published source]} Earlier, he was the Permanent Representative of Belarus to the United Nations (1967–1974).^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Виноградов B. "Афганистан: 10 лет глазами СМИ". Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine RSVA.com (in Russian)
^ Tabassum, Firdous (2002). Central Asia, Security, and Strategic Imperatives. G. Publishing House. p. 161. ISBN 9788178350790. Moreover, on May 19, Vitaly Smirnov, then Soviet Ambassador to Pakistan, publicly confirmed Kabul's "willingness to give a timetable for the withdrawal of the total Soviet contingent".
^ "BLAST IN PAKISTAN HAS OFFICIALS JITTERY". New York Times. 16 May 1985. Retrieved 8 December 2014. Soviet and Afghan soldiers fought together heroically, and in the final moment blew up the stockpile and themselves, said the Soviet Ambassador of Pakistan, Vitaly S. Smirnov, who protested the episode in Islamabad...This incident shows the increasing involvement of Pakistan in an undeclared war against Afghanistan, Mr. Smirnov said...Pakistan officials say the attacks are increasing as part of a Soviet campaign of intimidation...And so the Government, although not denying Ambassador Smirnov's assertion about the explosion, has refused to confirm it and probably never will.
^ "AROUND THE WORLD; French Politician Visits Camp of Afghan Rebels". New York Times. 6 January 1985. Retrieved 8 December 2014. Last October the Soviet Ambassador to Pakistan, Vitaly Smirnov, said that journalists or others who made secret visits to report on the Afghan situation would be killed.
^ "Pakistan scoffs at Soviet war talk". Sydney Morning Herald. 23 December 1983. Retrieved 8 December 2014. The ambassador, Mr. Vitaly Smirnov, told the right-wing Nawa-i-Waqt, that Pakistan was waging an "undeclared war" against Soviet-occupied Afghanistan which would invite direct military intervention from the Soviet Union and its satellites.
^ Smith, Jakes (2005). Dinner with Mobutu: A Chronicle of My Life and Times. Xlibris Corporation. p. 142. ISBN 9781413499438. The Soviet ambassador to Pakistan, Vitaly Smirnov, issued the following warning to Western journalists: "Stop trying to penetrate Afghanistan with so-called guerrillas. From now on, the bandits and the so-called journalists accompanying them will be killed.

[Vinogradov-1] Виноградов B. "Афганистан: 10 лет глазами СМИ". Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine RSVA.com (in Russian)

[2] Tabassum, Firdous (2002). Central Asia, Security, and Strategic Imperatives. G. Publishing House. p. 161. ISBN 9788178350790. Moreover, on May 19, Vitaly Smirnov, then Soviet Ambassador to Pakistan, publicly confirmed Kabul's "willingness to give a timetable for the withdrawal of the total Soviet contingent".

[3] "BLAST IN PAKISTAN HAS OFFICIALS JITTERY". New York Times. 16 May 1985. Retrieved 8 December 2014. Soviet and Afghan soldiers fought together heroically, and in the final moment blew up the stockpile and themselves, said the Soviet Ambassador of Pakistan, Vitaly S. Smirnov, who protested the episode in Islamabad...This incident shows the increasing involvement of Pakistan in an undeclared war against Afghanistan, Mr. Smirnov said...Pakistan officials say the attacks are increasing as part of a Soviet campaign of intimidation...And so the Government, although not denying Ambassador Smirnov's assertion about the explosion, has refused to confirm it and probably never will.

[4] "AROUND THE WORLD; French Politician Visits Camp of Afghan Rebels". New York Times. 6 January 1985. Retrieved 8 December 2014. Last October the Soviet Ambassador to Pakistan, Vitaly Smirnov, said that journalists or others who made secret visits to report on the Afghan situation would be killed.

[5] "Pakistan scoffs at Soviet war talk". Sydney Morning Herald. 23 December 1983. Retrieved 8 December 2014. The ambassador, Mr. Vitaly Smirnov, told the right-wing Nawa-i-Waqt, that Pakistan was waging an "undeclared war" against Soviet-occupied Afghanistan which would invite direct military intervention from the Soviet Union and its satellites.

[6] Smith, Jakes (2005). Dinner with Mobutu: A Chronicle of My Life and Times. Xlibris Corporation. p. 142. ISBN 9781413499438. The Soviet ambassador to Pakistan, Vitaly Smirnov, issued the following warning to Western journalists: "Stop trying to penetrate Afghanistan with so-called guerrillas. From now on, the bandits and the so-called journalists accompanying them will be killed.

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