KYIV, Ukraine Considering the situation, there was little Robert Pszczel could do to prevent the verbal assault.

For a while, he stood his ground in the state television studio and appealed to Russian viewers sense of reason.

Then a couple of guests as well as the host pounced.

Youre a Pole! one guest cried out lividly. Youre a Russophobe from the outset already.

Shouldering that sort of abuse has become more or less part of Pszczels job these days.

As director of the NATO Information Office in Moscow, hes the chief spokesman of the military alliance there. Amid the worst standoff between Russia and the West since the Cold War, stumping for NATO isnt the easiest of gigs.

Thanks to the crisis in Ukraine, which Russias powerful state media machine has exploited to shore up domestic support for the Kremlin, a wave of anti-Western hysteria has swept over Russia.

Criticizing the Russian government has had deadly consequences. Witness last weekends apparent political assassination of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, an opposition leader painted as an enemy for allegedly siding with the West against Russia.

Its an environment that leaves little room for open discussion.

Russia is a great country, and a great country needs a great debate, Pszczel said in a telephone interview from Moscow. But where is it?

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Meet NATOs man in Moscow