Marshavin said Malpass' relations with his Russian colleagues were at a high level for some time.
"Let me remind you that David Malpass made his first foreign visit after the coronavirus pandemic in June 2021 to Moscow, and then acted as the main guest at the SPIEF opening ceremony. This visit was truly a breakthrough, since before that there had been no official visits of the heads of the World Bank to Russia for a whole decade," he said.
Marshavin pointed out that Malpass' decision to visit Russia in 2021 despite the ongoing domestic political squabbles in the United States over alleged collusion characterizes him as a "brave leader with great respect for our proposals and point of view."
However, Marshavin said that Malpass' tone changed last year under the most severe pressure from the World Bank's Western shareholders.
"Malpass began to make politicized statements in public statements, which is unacceptable for an international official of this level," he said.
Marshavin said during the initial years of his tenure, he showed himself to be a rather pragmatic and balanced leader, ready for dialogue and cooperation with all members of the World Bank, including with Russia.
"Moreover, he knows our country well, speaks Russian. Many members of the board of directors noted his openness to contacts and modesty, which contrasted especially with the behavior of his predecessor," he said.
"Under Malpass's leadership, the World Bank has delivered record customer financing performance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, successfully moving the work of tens of thousands of its employees and partners around the world online."
In February, Malpass told his staff in a letter that he planned to leave his job by the end of the bank's current fiscal year on June 30 and about a year before his term expires. The World Bank has said that its board of executive directors is expected to select a successor for Malpass by early May.
All assessments expressed are the personal opinions of Roman Marshavin and do not reflect the position of the World Bank Group.