Memoirs of Diplomats: Correlation between Subjectivity and Objectivity in the Interpretation of Events

Abstract

The article considers memoirs of diplomats as a special type of historical sources that cover not only the storylines of the memoirists’ biographies, personal life and everyday practices but also, to a greater extent, international events, which are at times determinative in treaty-making, peaceful resolution of conflicts and the fate of people and states. The author analyses the memoirs in terms of correlation between subjectivity and objectivity in assessing the events and compares the narratives based on the chronology of their creation: before the Revolution of 1917, in the Soviet era, and in the 1990s – early 21st century. It has been shown that the approaches and assessments made in accordance with the prevailing state ideology as well as the events described depend on the period when the memoirist lived and worked.

Keywords

• memoirs
• narrative source
• diplomats
• foreign policy
• international relations
• diplomatic protocol and etiquette
• everyday life