Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at a first-day-of-issue ceremony for the postage stamps “Uniforms of Russia’s Diplomatic Service” from the History of the Russian Uniform series, Moscow, December 21, 2016

Before we begin, I would ask everyone to honour the memory of Andrey Karlov by observing a moment of silence.

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Mr Dukhovnitsky, friends,

It is gratifying to know that today we are making a concrete contribution to the development of Russian philately. Most importantly, this contribution will make it possible to once again emphasise the importance of the diplomatic service for our country, no matter what.

The great commander Kutuzov once said, “There is no honour higher than wearing a Russian uniform.” Of course, he was referring to generals, admirals, soldiers, and sailors. However, in our society a uniform means much more than a military outfit.

It is no coincidence, as Director of the Historical Document Department Nadezhda Barinova said, that in the 19^th century, diplomats who served at the Foreign Ministry, like all other public servants, were issued a uniform to promote discipline, because a uniform does exactly that. However, in the early 20^th century it was decided to issue a separate order regarding three types of diplomatic uniform – full dress, working and travelling uniform. The Soviet uniform for diplomats was approved during the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War, whereas today’s uniform was introduced in 2001 by a presidential executive order signed by President Putin.

As I mentioned earlier, a uniform is not only an attribute of the military. I think diplomats have earned the right to wear a uniform through their work as they faithfully carried out missions assigned by the state, and showed their patriotism. The tragic loss of our friend Andrey Karlov once again shows that the diplomat is always in the crosshairs, not only figuratively, but in actuality.

Speaking of uniforms, we certainly cannot forget about the essence of our service, which is inextricably linked with the fate of the country, its developmental paths, and hopes, with how it is perceived in the world arena, how comfortable our citizens feel under the protection of our great state. So, using stamps to immortalise the uniform, which carries a meaning that is very important for me and for everyone else present here, was very important.

We are sincerely grateful to Mr Dukhovnitsky, the Marka Centre, and everyone who was involved in making today's event happen including, of course, our Historical Document Department.

Thank you. I hope these stamps will be in high demand.          

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Thank you very much, Mr Dukhovnitsky. I can mention that you and I agreed that a stamp dedicated to Andrey Karlov will be issued, as a specific outcome of our meeting today in light of these tragic events. Thank you for the offer. Of course, we are all for it.