Diplomat: H.E. Kirill Barsky
From Russia with a critical eye on the world
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Words MAXMILIAN WECHSLER
n a wide-ranging inter view, the Russian Ambassador talks about militar y cooperation, helicopter sales, Russia’s special relationship with Israel, western journalists and his dream of welcoming Vladimir Putin to Thailand in the near future.
AS a couple, they look impressive and by the end of the interview it was clear that this impression is no illusion. His Excellency Kirill Barsky PhD, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Thailand, sported a white diplomatic uniform with gold stars on the lapel while his wife, Olga Barskaya, wore an elegant multi-coloured dress. Olga participated in the first part of this second interview with the ambassador (The BigChilli first featured an interview with him in December 2014) and displayed a charming mix of intelligence, warmth, loyalty and independence, qualities which perfectly complement the style of her husband. Like him, she devoted quite a few years to working in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Please call me Olga,” she said in pleasantly accented English after the ambassador made the introduction. “Olga belongs to this region,” he said as they exchanged smiles. She explained: “I was born in Jakarta, where my father worked as a diplomat in the Soviet embassy. I spent the first eight years of my life in Indonesia, but I am a Russian citizen, as were my parents. We are all Muscovites.” Besides English, Bahasa Indonesia and, of course, Russian, she speaks French, which she polished while living in Geneva in mid 90s. “I met Kirill in 2000 in New York, where we both worked at the Russian Mission to the UN. We fell in love and got married. I can speak Bahasa but I can’t read or write the language. In fact, I learned it when my husband served at the Russian embassy in Jakarta as minister-counsellor from 2004 to 2008. Actually our daughter, Maria, was the best teacher when we were in Jakarta.” “She was just a little girl,” the ambassador added, “but she quickly became fluent in Bahasa and could communicate easily with our Indonesian nanny who couldn’t speak
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Russian or English. She acted as our interpreter.” “When we left Indonesia Maria was four, and we wanted her to be educated in Russia,” said Olga. “We lived for six years in Moscow before coming to Thailand. Kirill was a Special Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation and I had a good job also.” Both the ambassador and his wife take an active interest in the embassy school, where Maria now studies. “Our daughter stays most of the time at the school with the other children and they speak Russian. She can only speak a few Thai words,” said Olga. “The school is for children who speak Russian but it is not only for Russians,” the ambassador added. “We have kids from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and a couple of mixed Thai-Russian boys and girls. The son of the Greek ambassador is also attending the school. The school is located behind the embassy. It is a secondary school from the 1st to 9th grade. We have 65 pupils and 10 teachers who are either sent from Russia or hired locally. Some teachers are wives of diplomats and some belong to the Russian community in Thailand,” Mr Barsky said. “It is a very nice school with a vibrant curriculum, with lots of clubs, sports and cultural activities. We teach our students Taekwondo and gymnastics. We have a professional music teacher who is a singer and a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory. The children are absolutely happy even if a little bit tired. They all speak Russian but they are learning English too,” said Mr Barsky, with Olga adding that some are also learning Spanish.
Busy lady Olga spoke of her life in Thailand. “I am working at the consular division of our embassy here. We have so many Russian citizens who reside in Thailand and many tourists come here on holiday. They sometimes need assistance from the embassy. I have other things to keep me busy as well. I am a member of the diplomatic committee of the Young Women’s Christian Association, which is a charity organization. We organize events like the International Charity Bazaar that was held at Central World in November. I am also a member of the diplomatic committee of the Thai Red Cross Society.