A Story about Time and about Oneself

Abstract

Book review: Popov V.V. (2023) From War To Peace: The Politics Of Practical Diplomacy. Moscow, Mgimo-University. 295 p.

2023 saw the publication of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation Veniamin V. Popov’s memoirs. Dr Popov not only describes his life path from his fascination with the Arab world in his youth to becoming a diplomat and achieving high positions, but also pays attention to the most important political events and key trends in the development of international relations. The political history in the memoirs of the diplomat echoes episodes of his life, which enlivens the picture of events and makes the memoirs more evocative. The assessment of some historical figures given by Dr Veniamin Popov is also intriguing. The book can be interesting to a wide range of readers: from young diplomats, who can find a lot of useful advice for themselves, to prominent researchers, whose attention may be attracted by new details of historical events.