A good diplomat knows that serving the Homeland requires sacrifice. Especially from the liver. When he risks his own health by drinking the obligatory sea of vodka, he must remember not to splash something. And not to compromise myself or my country ...
Veterans of the diplomatic service say that in this profession it is sometimes necessary to "lay the liver on the altar of the motherland." This means that for the sake of good relations it is not appropriate to refuse when the host offers. A diplomat must face any situation, even if the hospitality of the interlocutors proves to be beyond his ability.
He doesn't drink just dribble and fagot
Any official international relations in Moscow since the Second World War must have been heavily drunk. Former Winston Churchill translator and war veteran Hugh Lunghi recalled that the receptions often ended on the floor and that he had the opportunity to watch ambassadors often drunk unconscious.
In the times of the USSR, all attempts to make a diplomatic excuse from the traditional few glasses of vodka were a huge challenge. The problem was that no one trusted the abstainers, so whether they like it or not, toasts were raised to "groomsmen, fraternities and wzaimoponimanije."
The former ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Russia, Jerzy Bahr, emphasized that until recently the "Soviet style of drinking" was in force behind our eastern border, but today it is departing from this less glorious tradition. On the other hand, Polish diplomats and officials seem to be eagerly following it.
Soviet leaders preferred sumptuous diplomatic receptions. The trick, however, was to hide any evidence from photos. Photo session during the meeting of Leonid Brezhnev and Gerard Ford in Vladivostok. No trace of the glasses (photo:David Hume Kennerly, source:public domain).
An example is the toast raised in 2012 by the former head of diplomacy, Radosław Sikorski, at the meeting of ambassadors in Warsaw:“And whoever doesn't drink, this cabbage. And fagot! " Although the minister tried to correct his statement by citing a similar saying from the times of the Polish People's Republic, the distaste remained ...
A diplomat is not a "free man"?
How do I get out of difficult situations in which excusing myself from the glass would have far-reaching diplomatic consequences? For example, in China or Korea, it is appropriate to drink with the oldest or most important guest at the table, and refusal would be a terrible tactlessness. However, you can wet your mouth and… stop there.
Jerzy Maria Nowak - former ambassador to Andorra and Spain - advises always to be moderate and gives two tips that every diplomat should take to heart. You must not be photographed with a glass and it is good to stop at three.
The translations of the former president Aleksander Kwasniewski are certainly not diplomatic in this regard. When asked about his unusual behavior during a lecture in front of Kiev students in 2007, he retorted:“Maybe I drank one glass of wine, maybe ten. I am a free man. ”
An interview is waiting over the glass
In diplomacy, you must always measure your strength on your intentions and not get approached, because it is not known what will happen to the diplomat to "splash" after drinking. A seasoned specialist in international affairs and for many years the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Zdzisław Rapacki emphasizes that getting drunk is extremely irresponsible, because "a foreign intelligence service can take advantage of every mistake, every weakness, every stupidity."
It is said that the Chinese used to use the effusiveness of drunken diplomats. In two of them, they invited the guest to a goblet:one excused himself by being sick, and the other himself drank and made the contractor drunk, weakening his vigilance. In this way, the necessary information was obtained.
"I am a free man" is definitely not a diplomatic translation. Just like "Filipino disease" and "right shin pain". In the photo, Aleksander Kwaśniewski in Davos in 2004 (photo:Jean-Bernard Sieber, World Economic Forum, license CC BY-SA 2.0).
Alcohol often loosens the language, and a diplomat can benefit from it. Ambassador to the USSR and Russia Stanisław Ciosek recalls that the vice-president of the Soviet Union and the leader of the Moscow coup of 1991, Gennady Yanaev, turned out to be as willing to drink as to confess. As quoted by Łukasz Walewski and Marcin Pośpiech in the book "Ambasadorowie":
We drank and he spoke, happy to have a friendly listener. […] He described the internal situation to me in black colors, with the conclusion that it was impossible to allow a fall. And this is how he told me the whole scenario of the putsch [...], with details.
However, Ciosek points out that alcohol by no means guarantees a diplomat's success in dealing with important matters. He gives the example of conversations in Magdalenka, refuting the belief that has been lingering for years about the atmosphere of comity sealed with liters of drunk vodka:
The fact that we sat next to each other at the table after drinking alcohol did not matter. Because even if we drank a whole sea of vodka, and we used it in the amount and form used at official receptions, we would not get anything done without the sober will of both parties.
There is no way how drunk reveal the details of the planned coup to the ambassador of a foreign country ... Photo of a tank heading towards Red Square during the Janjew coup (photo:Almog, source:public domain).
Jerzy Maria Nowak also agrees with this opinion, emphasizing that the glass does not help in negotiations or developing friendly relations. It is always better to make important decisions sober.
All the illnesses of presidents
The history of diplomacy teaches that not only ambassadors and ministers find it difficult to avoid a glass. When the leader of a country cannot be assertive, it is easy to make a diplomatic blunder. The famous "Filipino disease" of former president Aleksander Kwasniewski was the reason for his behavior in Szczecin at the 2007 election rally, where the memorable words were uttered:"Ludwiku Dorn and Sabo, do not go this way!".
In 1999, in Kharkiv, while visiting the Cemetery of the Victims of Totalitarianism in Piatichatki, Kwasniewski suffered from the "painful right shin", which he explained years later with the hospitality of the hosts. When asked if the guests had been drenched in alcohol, he replied:"Of course, not soda."
Such situations are not unusual. In 2013, the President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, had problems with keeping the balance during the official ceremony. This was explained by a viral infection, but the source of the "disease" was quickly located:he must have contracted the infection several hours earlier at ... a Victory Day party at the Russian embassy.
The President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, managed to recover before his visit to Poland, which he made two weeks after the Victory Day. Here we see him surrounded by Polish senators (photo:Michał Józefaciuk, license CC BY-SA 3.0 pl).
President Boris Yeltsin was also famous for his mishaps, and "under the influence" he repeatedly demonstrated his artistic talents. In 1992, at a meeting with the President of Kyrgyzstan, Askar Akayev, he decided to play wooden spoons on his head, and two years later, during the farewell ceremony for the last Russian troops in Germany, he took the baton from the conductor of the military orchestra and spontaneously sang into the microphone.
In the 1990s, he proved his carelessness at the nuclear summit in Sweden and caused a scandal in Ireland. The Prime Minister of Ireland waited for Yeltsin for almost an hour - with his wife and honorary company - until finally the Deputy Prime Minister took it up, explaining that Yeltsin was ill. Upon his return to Moscow, the president said with disarming frankness that ... security did not wake him up.
On dual throttle
The profession of a diplomat is associated not only with lavish banquets, but also with impunity after the “cup”. Cases where immunity protects drunkards at the wheel pop up in the media every now and then. For example, in December 2008, a drunk Polish consul collided with a fire engine.
In turn, a Vietnamese diplomat in June 2016, returning from a party, caused an accident in which a woman almost died. He refused to test for alcohol in his blood and refuse to show any documents. However, a certain Russian diplomat who hit a cyclist turned out to be the most bloody. First, he refused to leave the vehicle, then hit one of the officers. He was so drunk he couldn't stand, but he beat evenly.
In their book, Łukasz Walewski and Marcin Pośpiech cite the memories of the Polish ambassador in Rabat, Krzysztof Śliwiński, who confirms his colleagues' taste for a glass and "dual gas driving". He mentions two cases where alcohol turned out to be fatal not only to bystanders.
In Morocco, an ambassador and a commercial counselor were on their way to Casablanca. A drunken counselor had caused an accident and they returned to the country in coffins. Another Polish diplomat went to the beach after drinking all night with his friends and died trying to save a child who had been swept away by the waves. As the authors of the book quote: our consul had a lot of work. He told me that after four years he is already finishing the 50th coffin - also not happy ...
Boris Yeltsin is so cheerful ... could it be for the same reason that he fell asleep on the plane? (photo:White House Photograph Office, source:public domain).
In the claws of addiction
It would be abusive to say that all diplomats are alcoholics, but it is certainly easy for them to fall into a bad habit. Stress, family problems, and easy access to alcohol do not make it easier to stay sober. According to professor Roman Kuźniar, every fifth German diplomat has an episode of addiction in his career. One of his colleagues from across the western border told him the price was paid for the work.
Krzysztof Śliwiński emphasizes, in turn, that even hearing warnings from a doctor, many diplomats are unable to exercise moderation. He recalls that one of his predecessors did not come to work one day and a cold corpse was found in the mansion. Apparently, my wife and mother-in-law did not notice anything because ... they were treating a hangover. Jerzy Nowak also recalls that he had to help people suffering from alcoholism many times.
Excessive attraction to the glass in the case of a diplomat is unlikely to bring many benefits, especially in the long run. It could cause him serious trouble for it. So what to do when at official meetings, banquets and balls, the front liquors are pouring in streams? It's best to say thanks and say no - diplomatically of course.