“Putin is an amiable man” Tab Meets: The Russian Ambassador

Yesterday evening, I sat down with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the UK Russian Embassy – otherwise known as Alexander Kramarenko. Originally from Moscow, Mr Kramarenko’s eyes twinkled with the knowledge of state secrets and a penchant for avoiding my questions. I decided to begin with a question I’d been dying to ask.

Have you ever met Vladimir Putin?

Yes, more than once during his visits to Britain in early zeros. I think it was his state visit in June 2003, when I was here on my first posting.

What’s he like as a person?

He is a very amiable person. He takes a lot of interest in many subjects – as far as I can judge, of course, I haven’t spoken to him on any particular subject.

“We want this much of Ukraine” (photo credits Chris Williamson)

How would you reconcile your professional position with the views of the West and the views of Russia?

You see, I think that the view of Russia has been distorted by [an] anti-Russian [feeling] and it has focused on a particular element of President Putin’s propaganda campaign.

I think this did a lot of damage – not only for our bilateral relationship with the West but also for the the public perception of Russia.

But its part of a systemic crisis of the Western society and it all depends on the qualities of the establishment. I think that the origins of the entire misunderstanding between us and the Western powers lies with the fact that this relationship has been badly mismanaged by our Western partners immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Do you think that the Western perspective tends to focus on a negative image of Russia?

There is indeed a gap in perceptions, but still much depends on the official position of Western European capitals and the position of the United States – you know that when we are dealing with issues of particular importance for our relationship with the West, we are talking actually to Washington!

Would you say that there still exists some elements of the Soviet Union in present Russian society and Russia’s international attitude?

I was born in the Soviet Union, sixty-two years ago. There are all sorts of perceptions, just like in any society. But the Russian Federation is no Soviet Union. There are no, let’s say, “obstacles” to travel abroad, to speak one’s mind and there’s no official ideology – like in the Soviet Union.

How would you reconcile that thought with, perhaps, Pussy Riot’s case? Their punishment was disproportionate to their crime, which a lot of people saw as a continuation of the Soviet show trial?

The problem is that when they made the same demonstrations in the past, in other places – not in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral – nobody paid attention to that and nor did the authorities. I think it was only then that it created the indication in the society – by the people who are believers. That’s why it was taken seriously. But I think that if they want to pursue a career in politics, they will get a boost from their imprisonment – like in the past.

Would you say the same of Mikhail Khodorkovsky?

I don’t know about Khodorkovsky or what his plans are. We’ve seen him Ukraine: he tried to mediate between the people of the East and the Ukrainian authorities – it’s up to him, what he is going to do. But personally, I can’t see him as a politician.

“Pussy Riot who?” (photo credits Chris Williamson)

Let’s talk about Crimea and the Ukrainian Crisis. In the West, we talk about ‘an invasion’ and we see it as an act of Russian aggression. Today, Putin has once again ordered the removal of Russian troops from Ukrainian borders but will this happen and how do you see this ending, if at all?

You see, I think that nothing was planned in advance, in regards to the Crimea – that is what’s believed by most of objective observers and experts.

After the agreement between President Yanukovych and the leaders of the opposition fell through, one of the first decisions of the new authorities was to abolish the original rights of the Russian language. The people just didn’t want to wait for the nationalist paramilitaries to come to Crimea. And these ordinary people, in their good senses, were fleeing from a turmoil of Revolution with all its unpredictabilites and ambiguities and ensuing violence – like we now see in the East. That’s why the people made their own decision not to be part of any revolution because we’ve been through Revolution already in the past century. Which was accompanied by the Civil war which lasted for years – people remember that. That’s why they fled to Russian for stability and prosperity.

What’s the future for Crimea now?

It’s part of the Russian Federation.

And how do you justify whats happening to the Crimean Tartars at the moment?

But… nothing is happening to the Tartars at the moment? The Crimean Republic has decided to have three official languages: one Russian, one Ukrainian and the Third, Tartar Crimean. That’s why I think we’re well on the way to solving whatever problems there are and solving their past injustices…