It was about this week in July two years ago when the media began the discourse on the particular suspects in the infamous Novichok poisonings.

Later on, the world was shown the photos of two despondent Russian males who were thought to be the perpetrators. These presumed officers of Moscow’s secret service gave a rather entertaining interview to Russia Today (a TV channel that is a media curiosity in its own right). In what seemed an almost fainting fit, the pair claimed that the only reason for their Salisbury voyage was the extreme beauty of the place.

Russian authorities, naturally, denied any connection to the matter.

Meanwhile, the chattering professionals deemed the whole endeavor to poison Mr. Skripal, the Russian spy that had defected to the UK, ‘a very clumsy operation’. The suspected murderers' duo, as well as their touching story of intimate friendship and the quest for the glamour of Wiltshire architecture, were scoffed at by both the experts and the general public.

Well, this sort of clumsiness may be a part of some great Russian tradition with a centuries-old record.

To substantiate the point, we are happy to present our earlier article telling the story of Gregoire d’Orlik – the 18th century French diplomat (and a spy) of Ukrainian descent.

In 1738, while travelling in Germany, d’Orlik’s colleague and close friend, Malcolm Sinclair, a Scottish nobleman in the diplomatic service of Sweden, was brutally (and clumsily) assassinated by two Russian officers sent to do the deed.

Naturally, Russia denied any involvement in the affair. No Russian troops, according to St. Petersburg, the then capital of the Russian Empire, were deployed in the area…

It is to the attention of those who believe that historical precedents need to be examined in all cases we are bringing this narrative. 

P.S. It is our sincere belief that historical precedents, similarities, and subsequent case-based analysis must comprise a notable element of the higher learning curriculum pertaining to International Relations and Diplomacy. The same concerns the professional think-tank research of the ongoing world affairs.

In this regard, the Kyiv School of Diplomatic Arts would be delighted to arrange and carry out the opinion exchange sessions or other forms of polylogue on the adequate ways of bringing History into the IR and Diplomacy Studies.

We welcome all interested institutions and individuals to express their views on the subject, as well as on the formats within which it could be properly deliberated.