Advisor to the Rector Sergey Lukyanov Participated in a Commemorative Meeting Dedicated to the 90th Anniversary of Academician Yevgeny Primakov

Sergey Lukyanov, Advisor to the Rector and Head of Department of World Economy and International Economic Relations at the State University of Management, participated in a meeting held by the Academic Council of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO) on 28 October 2019. The meeting was dedicated to the 90th Anniversary of Academician Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov, who over the years held the positions of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Minister of Foreign Affairs, deputy of the State Duma and director of the Foreign Intelligence Service.

The event was attended by many esteemed guests, including the President of IMEMO academician Aleksandr Dynkin, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, President of Russian Academy of Sciences Aleksandr Sergeyev, Federation Council Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachev, former Director of Foreign Intelligence Service Vyacheslav Trubnikov, Assistant to the President of Russian Federation Andrei Fursenko, Russian Minister of Science and Higher Education Mikhail Kotyukov and his first deputy Grigory Trubnikov. Former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger sent a video message for those participating in the meeting.

The participants noted Yevgeny Primakov’s outstanding work in all of his high public positions. They paid their respects to this great citizen, scientist and diplomat, who in many ways determined the direction of modern independent Russian foreign policy and defined the boundaries of the emerging multi-polar world.

In his speech, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov stressed that working with Yevgeny Primakov, whom he considered as a teacher, was a great honour for him and other Russian diplomats:

…As we have already heard, Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov was opposed in principle to archaic zero-sum games. He always based his decisions on the idea that the numerous problems we are facing today can’t be solved without extensive international cooperation. He believed that existing differences should not hinder working together in the areas of crisis management, conflict resolution, counter-terrorism, prevention of WMD proliferation, combating drug trafficking and organised crime. Today our global community has yet to resolve a number of serious issues, from long-term reconciliation in the Middle East and North Africa, to providing international information security – for this reason, Primakov’s philosophy remains as relevant as ever.

Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Konstantin Kosachev shared his observations on Yevgeny Primakov’s personality:

…Yevgeny Maksimovich was a person who knew much about a great many things. Such an amazing versatility, no doubt, had a lot of positive effects, but it is also possible that it caused troubles for Yevgeny Maksimovich as well—the more success he had when holding a post, the more our country and society expected from him, giving him new responsibilities that he did not desire. At least, that’s how it was with his appointment to the position of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation when he was told he was the only one who could save our country during those troublesome times.

…Working at different times, in different positions, under different leaders, he always acted depending on the circumstances but he never adapted to these circumstances. It is remarkable how he had retained his inner freedom, the freedom of his personality, no matter how high he rose through the ranks towards the top. He gathered many like-minded people around himself, without fear of competition. Together these people were able to achieve even more, and that is the only way towards real success.

Vyacheslav Trubnikov, the army general and Hero of the Russian Federation, talked about his time in Foreign Intelligence and noted that he felt very lucky to work with such a great person as Yevgeny Primakov. In Trubnikov’s opinion, Primakov saved the Russian intelligence service during its most testing times:

And that’s the truth! Primakov did everything he could to make the intelligence service transparent for our society. He made the purpose of the service’s existence in a modern democratic society clear to the people. I have never considered myself a public person, but Yevgeny Primakov explained to me that we would not be able to keep working together unless we got rid of the uncalled for secrecy. the intelligence service is a conservative military organisation, but Primakov tried to make its work more understandable to our people and society. He made a significant contribution to the 1995 second law “on Foreign Intelligence”.

Andrei Fursenko, Assistant to the President of Russian Federation, not only stressed Primakov’s contributions in science, policy and diplomacy, but also his personal qualities, which included both warmth and severity, no matter who he was talking to. In conversations Yevgeny Maksimovich never tried to hide his concern for the future of Russia:

We need such people—both on a national scale and at a personal level. He could resolve many issues through informal negotiations. Yevgeny Primakov was an example of what a statesman could be when he takes responsibility for his country on himself.

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