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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's interview with VGTRK television network for a documentary on Anatoly Torkunov's 75th birthday, Moscow, August 26, 2025

26 August 2025 13:11
1379-26-08-2025

Question: Do you remember how you met Anatoly Torkunov?

Sergey Lavrov: We actually met "in a deep ditch" - or rather, a foundation pit, much like the one from Andrey Platonov's novel. It was during the construction of the Ostankino Television Centre in July 1967, just after we had both passed our entrance exams to MGIMO.

The new students formed a construction team that worked on the site for two or three weeks before the semester began. We were not building the tower itself, of course - we were digging the foundation pit for the television centre. That's where we met, and we clicked instantly.

We formed a group of friends that later became the core of our year's cohort. From then on, we carried that memory - this sense of being part of something, not just of diplomacy but of creating new media opportunities for our Motherland - throughout our student years and then our entire lives. And I still believe that the 1967 cohort (I might be biased, as anyone is when it comes to themselves and their friends) was one of the brightest and most successful at MGIMO.

Question: Can you tell us an unusual story from that time?

Sergey Lavrov: There were so many memorable moments during our student years. I couldn't possibly tell you all of them now. But I definitely have to mention our cohort's traditional evenings, which always included a kapustnik - an amateur sketch show. It was the main highlight of each gathering, really, and very much anticipated. We all helped write the scripts, but Anatoly Torkunov and a few others - who are all still with us, touch wood, and may they remain in excellent health - were the most actively involved. We still get together occasionally, though unfortunately, it's been a while since our last reunion.

Torkunov was always cast as a professor. We experimented with all sorts of plots, polishing our writing skills from our first year right through to our fifth. And even after we graduated from MGIMO and went our separate ways professionally, we kept the tradition alive by writing new scripts for our reunions every five years. At one point, Anatoly played Cardinal Richelieu. We had exhausted plots from Russian literature (we had reworked Eugene Onegin, Woe from Wit, and other famous plays into comic sketches), so we turned to world classics and eventually settled on The Three Musketeers. We wrote the scripts - all in rhyme, naturally, sparkling and fun - portraying MGIMO as the "school for musketeers." That's how Anatoly came to play Cardinal Richelieu, dressed in a red robe that vaguely resembled a cardinal's cassock, with a red skullcap on his head. Even then, he showed signs of the mentor, the rector, the educator he would become.

We cherished this tradition dearly. We still have videos of all our kapustniks. I think they have been digitised - I'd have to check on that.

Question: We have seen a few. In one of them, you first sing the song that later became the anthem of MGIMO.

Sergey Lavrov: It was supposed to sound quite different, you know. I got the rhythm completely wrong. We ended up singing it slowly, when it was meant to be sung quickly.

Question: In your view, what qualities have enabled Anatoly Torkunov to lead one of our country's foremost universities for so many years?

Sergey Lavrov: Without a doubt, he is an outstanding scholar. No one has ever questioned that. His election as a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences was a thoroughly deserved achievement. What defines him is his commitment to integrity and thoroughness in everything he undertakes. Yet this gravitas is in no way synonymous with arrogance - far from it. He is an utterly unpretentious, approachable person, but what truly sets him apart is his ability to put people at ease - not only long-standing friends, though that is an art many of us possess, but also to connect with students. I have seen how they respond to him at various events. It is a rare gift to lead by example - to demonstrate how we aspire to help these young people forge their path in life, acquire a profession, all while conducting oneself with complete naturalness, without erecting any barrier between oneself as a lecturer, then dean, and ultimately rector of the entire institute. Thirty-three years. He has served for as long as Christ had lived by the time he reached the height of his popularity.

Question: What would you wish for Anatoly Torkunov?

Sergey Lavrov: Good health - for all of us, that is now among life's foremost priorities. Thankfully (knocking on wood), most of our classmates, particularly given our no longer youthful age, are more or less managing well on that front. Anatoly Torkunov sets an example here too.

Second, I wish him many more years of this wholesome, purposeful life and continued success in leading our beloved institute, our alma mater. Of course, its campus now lies in Moscow's southwestern expanses, but for us, it will always be tied to the old building by the Moskva River, on what was then called Metrostroyevskaya Street - Ostozhenka today. That building truly became a home.

It is gratifying that the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry now occupies that site. We aim to strengthen ties - including institutional ones - between the Diplomatic Academy and MGIMO. By this, I mean the Academy should focus more on professional development programmes, postgraduate admissions, and specialised courses - both for our experts and politicians (many State Duma deputies and Federation Council members have expressed interest in attending such courses) and for our foreign partners, including embassy staff from Asian, African, and Latin American countries. These are popular courses currently offered by the Academy, as well as for visiting officials from relevant foreign ministries. This is a promising avenue. I have discussed it with Anatoly Torkunov. Here, we can combine academic research with advancing our diplomatic initiatives alongside friendly nations.

And naturally, happiness in his family life - with his children, grandchildren, and all his numerous relatives.

I hope that on the very day of his anniversary, I will have the opportunity to personally convey to him all the sentiments that, in my view, this man has earned. And what he has earned is the most brilliant and fulfilling of lives, which he is indeed living. We offer him our wholehearted support in this endeavour.