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Table of Contents
The Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 1
  • 27 October 1937
  • 12 July
  • 18 July
  • 9 August
  • 30 October
  • 31 October
  • 1 November
  • 4 November
  • 5 November
  • 6 November
  • 7 November
  • 9 November
  • 10 November
  • 12 November
  • 15 November
  • 16 November
  • 17 November
  • 18 November
  • 23 November
  • 24 November
  • 25 November
  • 27 November
  • 28 November
  • 29 November
  • 1 December
  • 5 December
  • 6 December
  • 11 December
  • 13 December
  • 16 December
  • 17 December
  • 18 December
  • 19 December
  • 20 December
  • 24 December
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© 2025
24 November
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By Liakhovetsky, Ivan Mikhailovich (Maisky)

The Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 1

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24 November
I had the following conversation with the Swedish envoy Palmstierna
Baron Erik Kule Palmstierna, Swedish foreign minister, March–October 1920; ambassador in London, 1920–37.
at breakfast.
Palmstierna: You, of course, do not believe in God?
I: No, I do not.
P.: And you, of course, are a materialist?
I: Absolutely correct – I’m a dialectical materialist.
P.: Well, just wait till you reach my age.
I: And what then?
P.: I, too, was a materialist in my youth. I read much and even wrote on the subject. I also used to say that matter is the basis of all things, that economics determines the relationships between people and states… But now I’ve come to a different conclusion. The longer I live the keener I feel that there is a god who rules the world and that the ideal is more important than the material. You’re surprised, I imagine? Perhaps you think me an eccentric? Never mind, just reach my age – you’ll see!
P.: When I was the minister of foreign affairs in 1919 and 1920, I often had to deal with the difficulties of the Russian Revolution, at least insofar as it 36concerned Sweden. In that period I met Mr Krasin,
Leonid Borisovich Krasin, Soviet commissar for foreign trade from 1920; trade representative in Great Britain 1921–23; Soviet ambassador in France, 1924–25, in Great Britain, 1925–26; died in post. Signed the trade agreement with Great Britain in March 1921, which led to the establishment of de facto relations between the two countries.
whom I consider to this day a great, honest and sincere man. Mrs Krasin published a nasty book about


Page 36

her husband after his death. She didn’t understand the first thing about her husband… So, do you know what I did at that time in order to understand and imagine the Russian Revolution better? I read Carlyle’s
Thomas Carlyle, Scottish author and historian (1795–1881).
two volumes on the French Revolution.
I: And did that help?
P.: Oh, yes, greatly. I developed a better understanding of the spirit, mechanics, and prospects of the Russian Revolution.
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Document Details
Document Title24 November
AuthorLiakhovetsky, Ivan Mikhailovich (Maisky)
RecipientN/A
RepositoryN/A
ID #N/A
DescriptionN/A
Date1934 Nov 24
AOC VolumeThe Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 1
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