Yuli Vorontsov: An Appreciation

Posted 16 December 2007

On December 13, 2007, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation announced the death, the previous day, of former Soviet and Russian Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov: "The diplomatic talent of Yuli M. Vorontsov was conspicuous in every endeavor entrusted to him." The product of a sophisticated culture, Vorontsov brilliantly displayed his "sharp intellect, high professionalism, gift for negotiations, encyclopedic knowledge and subtle understanding of the countries to which he was assigned."

The New York Times properly credited Mr. Vorontsov for his "roles in some of the watershed events in the cold war, from arms talks with Washington to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, where he was ambassador when Soviet troops withdrew in 1988 and 1989." [New York Times, Dec. 15, 2007]

Mr. Vorontsov also served as ambassador to India and France and, in 1985, he was one of the final candidates under consideration, before Mikhail Gorbachev selected Eduard Shevardnadze to replace Andrei Gromyko as Foreign Minister. In 1990, he served as the Soviet Union's ambassador to the United Nations and in 1994 Russia's President, Boris Yeltsin, appointed him ambassador to the United States.

"In 2000, Mr. Vorontsov returned to the United Nations as special envoy in charge of coordinating international efforts aimed at the repatriation or return of the remains of all Kuwaiti and third-country citizens missing after the gulf war, as well as the return of Kuwaiti property. His death came just a few days after he returned from a mission to Kuwait." [Times]

As the Foreign Ministry's announcement mentions, Mr. Vorontsov spent his last years contributing to the improvement of mutual understanding between Russia and the United States. In September 2007, he participated in ceremonies, hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, celebrating the bicentennial of diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia. And he was one of nine former U.S. and Soviet ambassadors who authored "A New Century of U.S.-Russia Relations," which was published in the International Herald Tribune on September 24, 2007.

Mr. Vorontsov also was a member of the Kissinger-Primakov commission, which is devoted to searching for ways to improve U.S.-Russian relations, and which is scheduled to meet again in January 2008.

Personal Recollections:

In May 2006, in my capacity as President of the Russian-American International Studies Association, I found myself sitting beside Yuli Vorontsov on a stage at St. Petersburg State University, as we listened to Mikhail Gorbachev's keynote address about the deteriorating state of U.S - Russian relations.

Following Gorbachev's speech and my private conversation with him during the subsequent intermission, I returned to my seat next to Vorontsov and informed him that, out of the blue, Mr. Gorbachev privately told me that he considered Vice President Cheney to be a "durak" (idiot, fool). Without prompting, Mr. Vorontsov advised me not to publicize that part of my conversation with Gorbachev. "Certain things can only be said in private," he advised me. (As readers of the Huffington Post already know (see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/walter-c-uhler/gorbachev-calls-cheney-a-_b_22363.html ), I ignored his advice.)

In addition to his attendance at Gorbachev's keynote address and the luncheon that followed on May 16, 2007, Yuli Vorontsov spent an additional two days with the Russian and American scholars who were participating in the 15th Annual Russian-American Seminar. He had kind words to say about my paper, "Russian Identity and the Prospects for Democracy in Putin's Russia," which suggested that Russian democracy looks much better on paper than in practice (see: http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=CDI+Russia+Profile+List&articleid=275 ) Yet, his kind words hardly squared with his publicly asserted view that "America has a democracy and so does Russia, and America will have to accept Russia's."

Mr. Vorontsov also cautioned one American researcher to question allegations that the Soviet Union once sought U.S. approval for a preemptive strike on China's Lop Nor nuclear weapons test facilities. He said, "I was in the Soviet Embassy in Washington during that time and saw all the traffic between the Soviet Union and the U.S. But I never saw such a request by Brezhnev." (Note: I overheard his words to that effect).

Mr. Vorontsov also participated in the 16th Annual Russian-American Seminar, this past May. This time, however, his objective was to provide undergraduate students - both those at St. Petersburg State University and those visiting from Virginia Commonwealth University - with an insider's informed perspective concerning Russian-American relations.

During a private luncheon after the seminar's conclusion, I peppered Mr. Vorontsov with seemingly outrageous allegations about the Soviet Union's conduct during the Six-Day War; allegations found in a new book, Foxbats over Dimona. His typically understated rebuttals can be found here: (see: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/walter-c-uhler/foxbats-over-dimona-revi_b_51029.html ) But, he was equally dubious and tactful, when I suggested that the fatwa issued by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- against Iran's production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons - deserved serious consideration.

In my every encounter with Yuli Vorontsov, I found him to be a gentleman who took facts and ideas - along with the individuals arguing them - seriously. But he did so with a rare old-world charm, quiet dignity and erudition that struck this twenty-first century American as quaint. As a spokeswoman for U. N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon so aptly phrased it: "He will be mourned with profound respect and affection by friends around the world."

Walter C. Uhler is an independent scholar and freelance writer whose work has been published in numerous publications, including The Nation, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Journal of Military History, the Moscow Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. He also is President of the Russian-American International Studies Association (RAISA).

waltuhler@aol.com