Dear Arctic Convoys Veterans,

Distinguished colleagues and guests,

Дорогие друзья,

 

I am so delighted to welcome all of you tonight to celebrate Russia’s National Day and wish a happy 28th birthday to my country! There is one more anniversary that we will be celebrating later this year, and I am delighted to announce that it is the  25^th Anniversary of the Russian Consulate General in Edinburgh.

Both events show how young my country still is, how many years have passed since we departed on our path to democracy and how much has to be done to achieve our goals. Though of course Russia as well as our friendly ties with Scotland existed long before. When in 1700 the Russian Emperor, Peter the Great, introduced the European Gregorian calendar to Russia, it replaced our traditional Julian calendar which showed at the same time year 7208 – a clear evidence to how  close were our ties with much more ancient civilizations and their culture. More three centuries have passed since that time but we still celebrate two New Years according to two different calendars – a vivid reminder of how much role our traditions play in our daily life.

I know that many of you, both Russian and Scottish guests, have been very true to another good tradition of supporting the Consulate during all these 25 years and have been closely involved in its activities from the very beginning. We are most grateful for that to all of you.

Here I would like to thank my compatriots in our native language. Спасибо Вам, дорогие соотечественники! Мы ценим вас и гордимся вами! С Праздником вас, друзья, с Днем России!

We are proud to say that although the Russian community in Scotland is not very large, a significant number of its members have made a successful career in business, science and technology, culture and arts.

I am also delighted that we are joined today by what we call the most cheerful and resilient part of our family – the veterans. Please, give a warm welcome to Ms Natasha Ivanova-Black and the Veterans of the Arctic Convoys.

Within the period of 25 years we have gone through many changes and have experienced quite a lot in our bilateral relations. 

To put it frankly, it would not be an overstatement to say that our bilateral relations  have seen better times. We, the Russians, have one more peculiar tradition not to talk about the bad (not to mention politics) at the table (at meat). To make it eatable I will try to add a pinch of salt from a famous BBC comedy prodigy «Yes, Prime Minister» in its first broadcast on 10 December 1987. One of the dialogues in the tenth episode called «Official secrets» starts with a phrase: «Sir, why don’t you expel 76 Soviet Diplomats? That’s always been our practice when we wish to ensure the press lose interest in something. It must be a story that nobody can disprove. And which will be believed, even if it is denied».

I am delighted that in the real life such comic episodes never turn out to be true and are doomed to stay only on TV screens.

Joking aside, being a diplomat I need to be an optimist, so I firmly believe that all the volatility we are experiencing now is due to what could be described as the teething problems of a global trend when a new polycentric, more just and fair, more representative system of international relations is being formed. A system that should fully reflect the geographical and civilizational diversity of the modern world.

It will take time for the new system to settle down, so I would not be surprised if there are more challenges under way. In these times it is important not to focus on our differences, not to stick to restrictive and reprisal measures, but to avoid not seeing the wood for the trees. And then it would be easy to discover that despite all seemingly insurmountable obstacles we have definitely no sound alternative to mutually beneficial cooperation on the basis of equality, pragmatism and respect of each other's interests.

That is why we should not forget that cooperation between Russia and Scotland is not only about talks and relationship between the officials, not only the exchange of high-standing delegations and high-ranking politicians, but genuine and fruitful interaction between every part of our multinational and diverse countries. People-to-people ties create a backbone in our bilateral relations. If that is in order, the relationship is still functional despite all the setbacks. Allow me to express my gratitude to all those enthusiasts who have helped to promote those friendly links between our countries. I am happy to see so many of you here tonight.

This year, unfortunately, we bid farewell to several close friends of the Russian Consulate General in Edinburgh,  – those who contributed much to developing close ties between our nations, those who were passionate and sincere in their love for both countries, those who achieved the building of trust between our nations. Among them are the Arctic Convoys veteran, Geoffrey Shelton and Professor Stuart Campbell. While reflecting on it, we fully realize that there are no other people who might adequately take their place; they were irreplaceable. Memories of them will forever live in our hearts.

 

Yet, life still goes on and with the new dawn new opportunities arise for developing new links and invigorating the current bonds. And the future will give us plenty of new chances.

One of those is starting just in two days, and it is a major event in the World of Football. Russia is proud to host 2018 World Cup. Dmitri Shostakovich, an outstanding Russian composer and pianist used to call football “a ballet for the masses”, so let us hope that Russia will provide this magical game with a mesmerizing Russian “Bolshoi” twist. It is certainly one in a lifetime experience, and the Russian people are looking forward to showing their best hospitality to the outside world at the 2018 World Cup.

And now it is time for a toast. Please raise your glasses to the Friendship between our nations and to Fair Play in sport and in life!