Стр. 44 - V

Author : R. Reinhardt
Lecturer, Department of Diplomacy, Moscow State Institute (University) of International Relations, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Candidate of Science (Economics)
TRADITIONALLY, and rightly so, a course of history of Russian
diplomacy is offered to first-year students at all higher educational
establishments across Russia that train diplomats and experts in in-
ternational affairs as an introduction to a vast layer of knowledge
of international relations.
Notwithstanding the traditions and the place the course of history
of Russian diplomacy occupies in the curriculum, there is no text-
book which is very much needed to offer comprehensive, rather
than fragmentary, knowledge of the history of Russian diplomacy
even if there is no shortage of relevant academic and popular writ-
ings.
The following classical work deserves special mention: Istoriya
diplomatii (A History of Diplomacy) in three volumes. The first edition had been issued in 1941-
1945,1 the second (in five volumes) in 1959-1979, and Ocherki istorii Ministerstva inostrannykh
del Rossii (Essays on the History of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia) that appeared in
2002.3Despite their commonly accepted and time-tested advantages, the dates of their publica-
tion and their formats make it harder, to a certain extent, to use them as didactic material.
Young academics engaged in the studies of history of diplomacy and the first-year students
fresh from school should learn how to work with encyclopedic publications. Indeed, at the early
stage, they might find it hard to grasp the material; they might be lost in the woods of details
and miss a general picture.
It took the Department of Diplomacy a long time to move from the idea of a textbook to its
realization in the year of the 100th anniversary of the critical turning point in the history of
Russia and Russian diplomacy as its part.
The textbook under review covers the main stages in the history of Russia's diplomatic service
from the first steps of Russian diplomacy to the year 1917 - and offers characteristics of foreign
policy activities of Russia's diplomatic structures - from the Posolsky Prikaz to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire. Much space is dedicated to contributions of prominent
Russian diplomats to the realization of foreign policy tasks in accordance with Russia's national
interests.
Summing up, I can recommend the book to those who have just entered the road of scholarly
studies and students of higher educational establishments as well as to those interested in the
history of Russian diplomacy. People on diplomatic service, likewise, will find it highly useful
since the knowledge about the history of Russia's diplomacy should be refreshed, so to speak,
throughout the diplomatic careers. In expectation of the second volume that will cover the Soviet
and post-Soviet periods (1917-2017), I wish the collective of authors creative and professional
successes.
Электронное приложение к журналу «Международная жизнь»
History of Russian Diplomacy: Professionalism and Patriotism