12th September 2014
August is a holiday month in much of Europe. It’s a good time to take stock, read the books that have waited long on the shelf, and explore new places. The war that is still going on This August marked one hundred years of the start of the First World War, when the armies of […]
1st August 2014
In my first few months here, I asked Belarusian interlocutors about Belarusian national identity. I received a variety of replies, but the subject was of more interest to me than to them. That’s changed recently as events in Ukraine have stirred a debate on the issue. I am intrigued by national identity. I first came […]
9th July 2014
Every so often Belarusians comment to me that London attracts Russians. The British media regularly report on their activities. The Guardian newspaper recently stated that there are 150,000 Russians living in “Moscow-on-Thames”. And two of our newspapers – the Independent and the London Evening Standard are owned by a Russian. I spent a day in London last week at meetings on […]
23rd June 2014
I am an historian by training. The disciplines I learnt from studying history at university have remained with me. I dislike general assertions that are not backed by evidence, or based on facts. I like to understand the context of any particular situation, and I’m interested in the causes and consequences of events. Every diplomat […]
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23rd April 2014
On occasion of the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare He was born 450 years ago, possibly on the same day – the 23rd of April – that he died 52 years later. He was the son of a merchant from Stratford, in the Midlands of England. He probably attended the local school where he studied […]
14th April 2014
Education, education, education. Those were the priorities that a former British Prime Minister famously described his government would pursue, if they were re-elected. I enjoyed discussing education last week as a guest introductory speaker at an international forum on the quality of higher education. From my experiences of talking to officials from others countries, I’ve […]
4th April 2014
Reporting and assessing events in other countries is one of a diplomat’s prime functions. We need to know about events, and then explain them to our governments. We have to explain complex events as briefly as possible and put them into a political and historical perspective. Our political masters don’t have time to read detailed […]
21st March 2014
When I wrote about the problems in Ukraine just over a month ago, I don’t think anyone expected what has since happened. I’ve written separately (in Russian) on the referendum in Crimea – I fear there will be more fountains of tears in Crimea. Recent events have happened despite both Ukraine and Russia being members […]
27th February 2014
The last two winters in Minsk can’t be more different. Last year, we had snow on the ground continuously for five months. In the middle of March we even had a blizzard, метель in Russian, although I think it was called буря – storm – at the time. This year, I’ve learnt the Belarusian phrase […]
18th February 2014
An advantage for English speakers trying to speak another language is that so many of our words find their way into other languages. Russian is no different. But I can imagine that the creep of anglicisms into Russian is as galling for Russian speakers, as it is for speakers of other languages. One word that […]