When everyone was finally seated, Gogolov produced another surprise, introducing his own wife to a group that had no idea he was married, much less to a woman as beautiful as Natasha Gogolov. A round of applause welled up from the assembled guests, whereupon the host shocked them yet again.
“Finally,” Gogolov said, raising a champagne glass for a toast, “I would like you all to meet my newly appointed foreign minister….”
Pausing, Gogolov turned his eyes to a side door to which the gaze of everyone else in the room quickly followed. A moment later, several of the ambassadors gasped, then covered their mouths and looked quickly at Gogolov as if in fear of having offended him. But Gogolov only smiled. He not only enjoyed their shock, he had anticipated it. For the man who now stood at his side was a man few knew was still alive: Andrei Kanetsky Zyuganov.
Gogolov could almost hear the astonished thoughts of his guests. How was this possible? Hadn’t Zyuganov died the night of the coup? He had been President Vadim’s chief of staff, a loyal senior advisor for nearly a decade. Had he been bought off by Gogolov and Jibril? Or had he been a mole in Vadim’s operation since the very beginning?
Everyone in the room was thinking the same thing. But no one had the nerve to verbalize it. They were not there to confront Gogolov. They were there to hear him out. And there was no question he now had their full attention.
By the time dinner was over, the shock had worn off.
The ice had melted. Vodka and brandy flowed freely. The air was thick with the sweet aroma of Cuban cigars.
Gogolov stood and tapped his water goblet with a fork.
“Gentleman, Winston Churchill was right. Russia is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, surrounded by an enigma. Nothing here is as it seems. In the last days you have witnessed the Second Russian Revolution, but unlike the first, Europe has nothing to fear.
“I am not the monster I am being portrayed as in the press. Do I share my comrades’ love of Mother Russia, their revulsion for the weakness and corruption of the Vadim junta? Of course I do. Am I concerned about the eastward creep of NATO, that an American-led military and political and economic alliance advancing toward my borders could trigger unintended consequences? I would be lying to you if I said otherwise.
“But, gentlemen, let me put your minds at ease. I have no intention of firing nuclear missiles into Germany, seizing Poland, threatening the Baltics, or building enormous fans to blow radioactive waste toward EuroDisney. A big relief, no?”
The room chuckled with nervous laughter.
“I am not Vladimir Zhirinovsky — Mad Vlad, as you in the West used to call him. Nor am I Sergei Ilyushkin. I share neither their virtues nor their vices. These men were clients. That was all. It was business, not personal. But they are gone, and you are here, and a new opportunity lies before us.”
Gogolov looked deep into the eyes of each man around the table as his left hand played with his wife’s blonde locks.
“My friends, the new Russia will be a true citizen of the world and a member in good standing of the United Nations Security Council. Russia has needs, of course. Russia has interests, and she will pursue those interests as she sees fit. But what are those interests? Is Russia not part of Europe? Is her fate not linked with those of her fellow Europeans? Of course it is, and we want the strongest possible relationship with the European Union. Likewise, is Russia not part of Asia? Is her fate not linked with those of her fellow Asians? Again, the answer is yes. And we are committed to being a good neighbor with our Chinese and other Asian friends.
“What Russia is not — and never will be — is part of the Americas. My predecessor forgot this. He mortgaged Russia’s moral and economic security in the vain attempt to strike deal after deal with the Americans. But where did it leave us? Are the Russian people better off today than they were before Grigoriy Vadim climbed in bed with the Americans? The answer, sadly, is obvious. But I would add that neither Europe nor Asia has been well served by tying your futures and your fortunes so closely to the Americans. It is Washington — not Moscow — that vetoes or ignores treaty after treaty and initiative after initiative that would favor both European and Asian interests. Am I right? Is that how the world should work?”
Gogolov scanned the room, looking for some flicker of identification in the eyes of those around his table. One by one, his guests displayed signs that he was getting through to them.
“Think about it, gentlemen. Those of us sitting here tonight represent nearly two billion people. Two billion. Together we are seven times the population of the United States. Now imagine — just for a moment — the peace and prosperity a common market of two billion consumers could create. Imagine the innovations such human capital could unleash. Imagine what we could do together if we began to explore our common interests, rather than blindly accepting this unipolar world in which we now find ourselves, a world dominated by — indeed governed by — the United States of America. I would submit to you that the United States has become like a new Roman Empire, a yoke around our necks that none of us was meant to bear.”
Gogolov let his words sink in. But he was not yet finished.
He argued that “twenty-first-century American imperialism seems to know no bounds — Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine; shall I go on?”
He suggested that Washington’s so-called war on terror had become a showcase for American arrogance, an excuse to run roughshod over the U.N. and the World Court, and, further, was evidence of America’s colonial designs on the oil fields of the Middle East.
And then he reminded the ambassadors that there was still no hard evidence that Aeroflot flight 6617 had actually been hijacked. He suggested that “significant questions regarding Washington’s actions remain unanswered to the world’s satisfaction.”
He criticized Washington’s refusal to allow Russian, German, or French companies to bid on contracts in a post-Saddam Iraq, despite the fact that Iraq still had an outstanding debt to Moscow alone of some $7 billion.
He pointed to Washington’s opposition to Russia’s and China’s receiving full acceptance into the World Trade Organization, despite years of E.U. efforts to work through the remaining areas of disagreement.
What’s more, he expressed deep disappointment with Washington’s resistance to a wide array of European objectives, from signing the international global warming treaty to paying its full debt to the United Nations, now measured in the billions of dollars.
On each issue, Gogolov was struck by the warm response he received. This was going better than he had hoped. He did not want to overreach, but time was of the essence. He glanced for a moment at Zyuganov, who nodded discreetly, and decided to make his move.
“Gentlemen, before this evening is over, there is one other issue of common interest that I must raise.”
A hush settled over the room.
“What you report back to your home governments about me and about this evening is your business, though as I mentioned during dinner I would like to meet with each of your presidents and prime ministers here in Moscow or in your capitals or wherever they so choose. And I am more than willing to travel anywhere necessary to make it clear the new Russia wants nothing but peace and prosperity for all nations of goodwill.
“But whatever you report back, I would ask you to make one thing abundantly clear. I speak now of an issue that has badly divided the world in recent years, but one of the utmost importance: the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
“You must know that the Russian people share your grave concerns about nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons falling into the wrong hands. Indeed, I personally share those concerns. I do not wish to see the spread of such weapons that could threaten our children, our economy, or our environment. But I will tell you quite candidly that I see hypocrisy in the American position, and it must be addressed.