On Friday, 27 December 2024, the Media Center of the State Enterprise ‘Directorate-General for Rendering Services to Diplomatic Missions’ hosted a presentation of the book Episodes by Yurii Malko, veteran diplomat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Episodes is a memoir of a Ukrainian diplomat’s life, family and career path. Through the prism of the author’s memories, readers can better understand many points in the history, emergence and development of Ukraine’s foreign policy, as well as take an interesting journey through popular sites in Belgium, Jordan, Morocco, the United States and other countries where the author worked during his diplomatic service.

Yurii Malko’s old friends from diplomatic circles, colleagues, and students gathered at the Media Center to mark this special occasion and congratulate the author on publishing his first book.

Alongside the author, Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations (1997–2001; 2015–19); Serhii Pyrozhkov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Pavlo Kryvonos, GDIP Director-General, Second-Class Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, took the honourable seats in the praesidium of the media zone.

Volodymyr Ohryzko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2007–9), Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Head of the Centre for russian Studies, moderated the event.

Speaking about the Episodes, Yurii Malko told the guests about the concept of his creation and to whom he dedicated this thorough work, which took more than 10 years to complete:

‘How did this book come into existence? In the preface, I wrote that I wanted to share my experiences during the numerous business trips and visits to many interesting places with my closest people and dear friends. In fact, there is a deeper reason that drove me to do this: I wanted to write about my family tree so that the younger generation of my family would know their roots. I spent 10 years writing Episodes, and these memoirs went beyond what one might call a purely family story, because I addressed the topic of professional activity, in particular, the period of my work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, specifically, how my senior colleagues taught me diplomacy. In addition to these memories, I did share my travel experiences with the potential reader. When I was in New York, Switzerland or somewhere in the Middle East, I tried to visit the most prominent cultural locations, and it left me so impressed that I needed to share what I saw. So, these memories can be interesting for anyone who loves to travel and discover something new.’

The author thanked his family for their invaluable support, the first readers from his circle of friends, everyone who supported him on the path to the book’s publication, and the Media Center team, who did their best to make this release possible. In particular, Mr Malko expressed his sincere gratitude to Pavlo Kryvonos, GDIP Director-General, for his proposal and support in the publication; Inna Khomenska, Head of the Media Center Directorate, who coordinated the publishing process starting from the manuscript review and ending with the book’s release; editor Oksana Zhovanyk; and Maryna Boholii, who designed and typeset the book.

In his greeting speech to the author, Pavlo Kryvonos read a couple of quotes from the book, which were a real discovery for him. He also emphasised the book’s uniqueness and value.

‘I would recommend future generations of diplomats to read this book, as it is a practical guide to preparing for their diplomatic service. The valuable insights contained in the Episodes cannot be found elsewhere, and these stories will serve as a reliable source of information and guidance for their great endeavours and accomplishments in their work. This is a book for the younger generation, where the author has shown the evolution of our country. While reading it, I took a different look at the episodes of our state’s development, even though I witnessed those times. For this, I express my sincere gratitude,’ Serhii Pyrozhkov said in his speech.

Volodymyr Yelchenko shared his memories of the years of friendship and fruitful cooperation with the author at the UN, as well as the individual writing style of Episodes:

‘This book is written in a very positive way. Even the not so pleasant pages of the author’s life and career are covered positively, because he is the kind of person who cannot think or write otherwise. Today is an outstanding day for Mr Malko, as he joins the cohort of young diplomats who write memoirs. Every diplomat has something to write about, but I believe that serving diplomats should also read this book. After all, being an ambassador is not merely a profession, but a vocation.’

In his closing remarks, Volodymyr Ohryzko added:

‘Mr Malko is skilled in conveying the curious and difficult situations in the work of a diplomat in such a beautiful and elegant way that it becomes another unique feature of this book’.

The presentation was followed by informal networking, during which everyone congratulated the author on the successful publication of the first book.