Tag: russia

3rd June 2015 Moscow, Russia

Avatar photo

by Martin Harris

Minister and Deputy Head of Mission to Russia

A story of a British-built Russian icebreaker, who took part in the Arctic convoys

Guest post by Keith Allan, Consul General in St. Petersburg The Russian ice-breaker, the Krasin, was built in Newcastle in 1916-17 and went on to play an important role in the Arctic Convoys of World War II. In this blog, Consul General Keith Allan talks about his recent visit to Newcastle University where a model […]

Read more on A story of a British-built Russian icebreaker, who took part in the Arctic convoys | Reply (2)

7th May 2015 Moscow, Russia

Avatar photo

by Martin Harris

Minister and Deputy Head of Mission to Russia

Triumph and Tragedy: remembering World War II – Guest post by Jon Sharp, Consul General in Ekaterinburg

A number of military anniversaries are being celebrated at the moment. Earlier this month there were striking images from the centenary of the Gallipoli landings. I’m sure there will be similar scenes throughout the period leading to 2018 and the centenary of the ending of World War I. In Russia we have been marking the […]

Read more on Triumph and Tragedy: remembering World War II – Guest post by Jon Sharp, Consul General in Ekaterinburg | Reply

5th March 2015 Moscow, Russia

Avatar photo

by Martin Harris

Minister and Deputy Head of Mission to Russia

International Women, acting together against domestic violence

International Women’s Day is a huge festival in Russia, and the biggest sales day of the year for florists across the country. But yesterday in Ekaterinburg we marked the occasion with a more practical demonstration of what International Women’s Day means. With support from our Consulate in Ekaterinburg, the directors of womens’ crisis centres and […]

Read more on International Women, acting together against domestic violence | Reply

28th November 2014 Moscow, Russia

Avatar photo

by Martin Harris

Minister and Deputy Head of Mission to Russia

In St.Andrew’s footsteps

St Andrew may not be my name saint, but he is my adopted one. I’ve been following him around all my life, born in Scotland and serving in three of the other countries that have St Andrew as their patron saint – Ukraine, Romania and Russia. Indeed he was in the background before I was […]

Read more on In St.Andrew’s footsteps | Reply (2)

14th November 2014 Moscow, Russia

Avatar photo

by Martin Harris

Minister and Deputy Head of Mission to Russia

The Baltic Convoys

This week I have been commemorating Remembrance Day in the Russian Arctic port city of Murmansk, destination of the famous Arctic Convoys that ran the gauntlet of German submarines on the northern supply route between Britain and the Soviet Union during the Second World War. I have also been reflecting on a different convoy in […]

Read more on The Baltic Convoys | Reply (4)

3rd September 2014

Avatar photo

by Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

NATO’s Summit in Wales: ‘Building Stability in an Unpredictable World’

On Thursday 4 and Friday 5 September the UK will host the NATO Summit in Newport, Wales. It will be the largest gathering of international leaders ever to take place in Britain. It will also be the first UK-hosted NATO Summit since the London meeting in 1990, which marked the end of the Cold War. […]

Read more on NATO’s Summit in Wales: ‘Building Stability in an Unpredictable World’ | Reply (1)

1st July 2014 Geneva, Switzerland

Avatar photo

by Bob Last

Head, UK Mission Political and Human Rights Team

Zeitgeist and Poltergeists

It’s been a difficult month. Like many other Council goers I’ve been trying to find enough time for the essential trinity of work, family and football. This is a struggle at the best of times but I feel that however many late-night shifts I’ve put in trying to make time for my council workload, my […]

Read more on Zeitgeist and Poltergeists | Reply (6)

23rd June 2014 Geneva, Switzerland

Avatar photo

by Bob Last

Head, UK Mission Political and Human Rights Team

Human Rights and Carbohydrates

I wonder what Napoleon Bonaparte would have made of the Human Rights Council.  I suspect the man who said an army marches on its stomach would ask how on earth we all survive. By week 2, the typical Council diet goes something like this: Breakfast: coffee, and gummy bears (5 minutes). Lunch: a sandwich that […]

Read more on Human Rights and Carbohydrates | Reply (2)

28th April 2014

Avatar photo

by Jonathan Allen

Former Ambassador to Bulgaria

Russia’s Actions Make the Case for a Western-facing Bulgaria

The Tsar Liberator faces the National Assembly. Newly cleaned, with touches of gold, the statue of the Tsar leading his troops in liberation of Bulgaria is impressive. But his watchful stance and position opposite parliament, the symbol of Bulgarian democracy, brings with it some ambiguity, brought into sharper focus by the situation in Ukraine. The […]

Read more on Russia’s Actions Make the Case for a Western-facing Bulgaria | Reply (1)

25th April 2014 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

European security under new scrutiny

I last commented publicly on the subject of European security at the Institute for Strategic Studies in Krakow in May 2013. A lot has happened since then. The crisis in Ukraine and Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea is of course the most significant development. I wrote recently about how Russia’s actions are completely indefensible and what […]

Read more on European security under new scrutiny | Reply