The Tbilisi Secrets of Evgenii Primakov

Abstract

Everything in a person is there from childhood. If you feed a child too many sweets, you raise an Oblomov. Mussolini, for example, was often beaten in childhood, and out of it came a dictator. Zhenia [Evgenii] Primakov, as a general rule, never fought; hence he could turn any situation to his advantage. He became a diplomat. When Primakov became prime minister, his school friends from Tbilisi congratulated him, of course. But their congratulations did not seem sincere—not because they did not like their old friend or because they envied him. Just the opposite: they felt sorry for him. In Russia, the post of prime minister is cursed: it burns everyone—Gaidar, Chernomyrdin, Kirienko. Rafik Demargarian, Primakov's classmate and friend, was candid: "I feel sorry for Zhenia, but on the other hand, I am sure that no matter what he undertakes, he will always succeed."