A DIPLOMAT'S DRESS
SIR,—The topic seems to deserve attention. H. Jakubowicz vindicates the right of the late Commissar for Foreign Affaires to an impeccable evening dress. Chicherin, as Louis Fischer correctly states in his Men and Politics (Cape, 1941) worked as an archivist in the Russian Foreign Office. May I add that he never thought of a diplomatic career? Under the historian Pavlov Silvansky he contributed to the centenary edition of the Ministry (available at the British Museum). He left Russia in 1903 or 1904 for Berlin, where he had to undergo a serious treatment. Having transferred his capital to the Deutsche Bank, he was contem- plating a prolonged stay abroad. He feared an upheaval in Russia would be too much for his nerves ; at any rate, he would not return before someone " like Professor Miliukov would be Prime Minister." Abroad he associated with political emigrants, and his outlook gradually became revolutionary. In 1917-18 he was a follower of Martov (Zeder- baum), the Social-Revolutionary Internationalist, the same who left Russia later (" Too much Blood "). Chicherin remained ; he had joined
the Communist Party.—Yours faithfully, A. MEYENDORFF. Heyford, Lr. Penns Road, Paignton, S. Devon.
Previous page
