Сколько стоит жизнь посла в тротиловом эквиваленте? Бейрутские зарисовки, 1986 – 1990 гг.

Kolotusha V.

How Much is a Life of an Ambassador in TNT Equivalent? Beirut Sketches, 1986 – 1990.

Еditor: Filonik Aleksandr

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Москва, 2013, 140 p.

The author of this book was the official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR as well as of the Russian Federation who worked in the Middle East for many years. Lebanon takes a specific place in his career where he started his diplomatic service in 1963. The author returned to Lebanon in 1972 as an embassy official of the middle link and was a witness of the beginning of the bloody conflict in this country. Later on, in 1986 he was given an assignment as the Ambassador of the USSR with the commission from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR E. Shevardnadze to further actively the process of the national reconciliation among the people of Lebanon. This assignment was clear but not easy to realize. Not everybody enjoyed such activity of the Soviet ambassador. There took place threats, there were risks for the security of the embassy and for the safety of its officials. The author describes in details the Lebanese public mood during the final stage of the civil war, the paving of the way for understanding the necessity to stop the bloodshed, the first steps to agreements in Taif. He also remembers his numerous friends among the Lebanese as well as foreign diplomats who assisted in the restoring of peace at the land of Lebanon. This book is not a scientific research of the civil war in Lebanon. It is the evidence of the eye-witness, in several cases even the real participant of the events of those days. The author’s point of view may not coincide with the Institute of Oriental Studies (RAS) opinion. The book is intended for a wide audience and for those who study the modern history of Lebanon and the Middle East.