The UCD Foreign Exchange
Who represents Ireland Inc Abroad? They have charisma, influence, and degrees from UCD. What do they think of their adopted countries? Catherine Heaney finds out.

HE Justin Harman
Irish Ambassador to The Russian Federation and Ambassador to Belarus, BA 1974
Where in the world? Moscow is an exceptional location, the throbbing 24/7 capital of a unique Eurasian landmass covering one ninth of the surface of the planet, stretching over eleven time zones. I arrived from Strasbourg with my family in 2003 and I can imagine no greater contrast to the bucolic charms of Alsace. It has been the most testing of postings (though Argentina, when I first joined Foreign Affairs the year after leaving UCD, was perhaps more exciting for different reasons). A cultural divide? There is an affinity in our approach to culture and a common love of the written word. Russians are one of the most literate populations and there is immense respect for Irish writing. Joyce, while anathema to the Soviet administration, had a seminal influence on 20th-century Russian writing. I was delighted to initiate the commissioning of a life-size bronze statue of Joyce in the centre of Moscow. Most memorable? A week with Russian friends on the Solevetsky Islands in the White Sea, close to the Arctic Circle. This site combines two central and contrasting trends in Russia: it is the location of a beautiful 15th-century monastery complex which reflects the deep-seated function of religion in Russian history and society. It was also the site of the notorious prison camp opened under Lenin, described as the ‘Mother of the Gulag’ by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and chillingly underlines the scale of horror suffered by Russians under Soviet totalitarianism. Your Moscow haunt? A favourite is the Petrovich Club, a quirky restaurant in the Chisty Prudi area. Some of the irony of the menu and décor may be lost on people who did not grow up in the Brezhnev era – but it is a great, fun spot. Favourite cultural institution? The small estate at Melikhovo, south of Moscow, which Chekhov bought in 1892. He was also the local doctor and wrote over 40 of his major works there, including The Seagull and Uncle Vanya. The atmosphere has been lovingly recreated in an idyllic setting. Justin Harman will take up a new post in Madrid in September 2009.


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