Today Russia celebrates the Day of a Diplomatic Worker – or more commonly “Diplomat’s Day” – a professional commemoration day to honour Russian diplomats and revere the memory of the veterans of Russian Diplomatic service. The holiday was established in October 2002 by the Decree of the Russian President V. Putin. The date February 10th was not chosen randomly: on this day falls the earliest mentioning of Posolsky Prikaz (Ambassadorial Office) in annals of the state– the first Russian foreign policy agency.
The origin of the national diplomacy actually dates from the 9th century when a young Russian state began to conclude its first agreements with Byzantine Empire. The creation of a special service for negotiating with the foreign states goes back to the era of Czar Ivan the Terrible. The first record of the Posolsky Prikaz related to the “embassy administration” handed over to a minor official
I. M. Viskovaty dates exactly from this age. The main functions of the Posolsky Prikaz were: sending Russian embassies abroad and the reception of foreign embassies, the preparation of texts of the “instructions” for the Russian envoys, agreements, negotiations, and from the beginning of the XVIII century — assignment and control over the actions of the permanent Russian diplomatic representatives abroad.
The Prikaz preserved state seals, as well as state archives, which included most important foreign policy and domestic records.
During the reign of Emperor Peter the Great, when Russia had affirmed its position as a great European power, in the leading states such as Netherlands, Turkey, Denmark, England and France regular Russian diplomatic missions were created. In 1720 the Posolsky Prikaz was replaced by the Foreign Affairs Office. In 1802 under a manifesto of the Emperor Alexander I the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was formed. By the year of 1816, the Ministry had developed a precise structure with different departments and divisions.
Russia’s monarchy attached great importance to the country’s interests on the international arena, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the rank of a chancellor was Emperor’s right-hand man and second important person in the country.
Among Russian diplomats were many remarkable writers and poets, which left their mark not only in our diplomatic history, but also in Russian classic literature. For example, Alexander Pushkin (whose ancestors were from Africa), considered as a founder of modern Russian literature, started his state service in the Foreign Ministry in 1817.
Fyodor Tuytchev, the great romantic poet of Russia, served as trainee diplomat in 1821 in Munich. Outstanding Russian poet and playwright Alexander Griboyedov was an Ambassador to Persia. By 1914, Russia had 45 Diplomatic missions working in many countries in the world.
After the October revolution, under the decree of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs was organised. In 1946, it returned its name of a Ministry. The major area of the foreign policy of Soviet diplomacy in the second half of XX century was the struggle for peace, international détente and disarmament.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation succeeded to the Soviet Foreign Ministry. Nowadays the Russian Federation has diplomatic relations with almost 200 countries, 140 Embassies working abroad and 14 Permanent Representations to International Organizations.
In addition, Russian Federation is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
The professional holiday of Russian Diplomats clearly demonstrates the Russian leadership’s unwavering focus on the diplomatic service. Foreign Ministry’s significant contribution to upholding national interests and strengthening the position of the country on the world stage cannot be underestimated. Russia is aware of the special responsibility that rests with the national diplomatic corps given the current international situation.
President V. Putin once emphasised, ‘‘Under no circumstances and under no pressure, will we change our independent foreign policy, as it meets the vital interests of our people and is in line with the efforts to ensure global security and stability.’’
Russia is not opposed to any associations of countries, but instead affirms the principles of equality, mutual respect of interests and collective settlement of critical problems in international relations, which are rooted in international law and the central role of the UN.
As Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, ‘‘Russia has consistently advocated respect for sovereignty and the right of peoples to determine their own destiny. Only on the basis of equality it can be achieved the uniting of efforts in the struggle against the common challenges and threats for all mankind, primarily international terrorism.’’
Russia wants all nations and people to feel equally protected and confident that their right to choose their future will be respected.
The Article was prepared by the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Zimbabwe. EMBASSY’S OFFICIAL WEB-SITE: zimbabwe.mid.ru. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @RuEmbZimbabwe. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK <http://www.facebook.com/RuEmbZimbabwe>