Churkin’s NO! Serbs Put Up Monument in Memory of Ambassador’s Veto in the UN Security Council

Vesti News on Saturday with Sergey Brilyov

Vesti News on Saturday with Sergey Brilyov

Our program today is devoted to the memory of Vitaly Churkin. Next Tuesday, it’ll be a year since he passed away so unexpectedly one day before his 65th birthday.

"Thank you for the Russian No". This is the name of the monument which was put up by Serbs in East Sarajevo, in Bosnia, in memory of Churkin and his veto in the UN Security Council. This week, there was a laying of flowers, and this was the final episode of filming the whole movie, which our editorial board prepared for this sad anniversary.

Today, we're announcing a new film. We won't give out any spoilers, but here's a preview.

 

"Could you calm the Security Council members down a bit? They're provoking me".

"An outstanding diplomat — energetic, creative, and brave."

"I lost an iceman. A professional, a kindhearted person".

Samantha Power, Harvard University professor, US Ambassador to the UN: You know, we were like boxers in opposite corners.

- To our meeting, I brought a printout from your article in The New York Times. It was devoted to Churkin. The article is called "My Friend, the Russian Ambassador". How can it be?

Samantha Power: Vitaly was a pro. He was able to fight to the finish.

"You are so much like a Western man. You're so sharp and caustic. How about joining us?"

"I'd advise you not to spend your life waiting for this."

PRESENTS: Churkin

We won’t retell our entire film, but we’ll mention that in New York we followed the route, along which, if he took a rare break, Vitaly Ivanovich liked to walk to work in the morning. He walked along Park Avenue. This, by the way, is the street where Henry Kissinger's office is. He, as we know, got on well with this elder of diplomacy. And in our film, Kissinger will tell you what gift he prepared for Churkin for his 65th birthday, which Vitaly Ivanovich didn’t receive. For now, watch this video.

Henry Kissinger, US Secretary of State: "He served as a permanent representative during one of the most difficult periods in US-Russian relations, and did it with dignity and wisdom".

Here Churkin is in New York with his childhood friend who came to see him. Do you recognize him? It's Boris Tokarev, the actor who played in The Two Captains. When he and Churkin were children, they played in Sinyaya Tetrad as two revolutionary brothers who were hiding Lenin in Razliv.

Boris Tokarev, actor: "When we watched these scenes, he used to say, 'Back then, I already knew I'd be a diplomat of Lenin's school.' It was his favorite joke".

Few people know that Churkin was fond of hockey. His friend and hockey player Alexei Yashin will tell us what he was like outside of the office. And, of course, here's another unique archive photo.

Churkin and his wife, Irina Yevgenyevna. Here they are white water rafting. They met when skiing, their children, Anastasia and Maxim, do it too. He was a caring father, but did he take care of himself?

Not just under stress, but under fire, he visited the former Yugoslavia. Churkin is about to dismount this armored vehicle. He seems to be the only one who isn’t wearing a military uniform. And he seems to be the only one with respect to whose mandate there were disputes at home. Here are the recollections of Britain's Lord Owen, who represented the European Union in the Balkans back then.

- Do you remember Churkin?

- Yes, I do. He isn’t one of those people that you easily forget. At that time, Kozyrev was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, so we were able to work with him directly. Relations with him were developing very well. I think Churkin didn’t agree with Kozyrev on many issues but didn’t put it on display.

We go farther along Manhattan. At the corner of 68th Street and Lexington, Churkin used to stop to buy a newspaper. He had a special relationship with the press in all periods. In the museum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, not just in the Ministry, we have an appointment with the one who replaced Churkin as the official representative of the Foreign Ministry. Churkin’s English is the standard for her.

Maria Zakharova, press spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry: "This is a completely different understanding of the language in comparison to the one we’re accustomed to. Knowing quotes from a country's classic literature is absolutely priceless. He knew quotes from songs, from poems, from movies. It really broke the ice. After listening to him, no one dared to say that he was the wrong man for the job or that he didn't know what he was talking about".

Do you remember the famous leather folder with which Churkin went to the Security Council? Maria Zakharova will show us how shabby it became after so many years. Churkin was surprisingly unpretentious in everyday life.

Here is an amusing, friendly caricature, which was given to him on his 60th birthday. Here are all the periods of his work, including the most unexpected moments. For example, this scene at the UN General Assembly when a colleague from Mongolia approached Putin. And if you look closely, Churkin's face has some unusual expression at the moment. As if of nostalgia. In fact, this caricature shows a Mongolian rider. In MGIMO, Churkin studied Mongolian, the picture shows him in a student construction brigade. Churkin’s classmate and the current Russian ambassador to China, shares his memories.

Andrei Denisov, Russian Ambassador to China: "Let me tell you a secret. Vitaly Ivanovich was a debater. He somehow tried to prove everything. In our small construction brigade in Siberia, we called him 'The Theoretician'. 'Theoretician Churkin.' We simply didn’t know the word 'analyst' back then".

But, of course, there will be a special conversation about the Balkans. We’ll also visit the Serbs in the former Olympic cluster of Sarajevo, the Croats, and the Bosnian Muslims. It was here in the Balkans back in the 90s that Churkin found the keys, not only to the very obstinate Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians, but also to the negotiators from the EU and NATO. In fact, there, to NATO, he was soon sent to work.

Our movie will show Brussels, Canada, the Arctics, the Balkans, New York, Rome, and Beijing. We'll also show the village of Marinkino of the Kirzhachsky District of the Vladimir Oblast. You'll see why in the full movie, which will be shown on Monday after Vladimir Solovyov's program.