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The Russian Times
Daily Russian Newspaper
Daily Russian Newspaper
New Foreign Minister
- Dimitrios Gounaris
Lord-Regent Gerlach Trautmann has appointed a new Foreign Minister. The new Foreign Minister is Dimitrios Gounaris. As his name suggests, he is of Greek descend; his ancestors were Greek Phanariotes who came to Russia in the late 18th century. The new Foreign Minister is a well educated man who has studied abroad in both the United Kingdom and the United States. He has degrees in philosophy and has written books on Epicureanism, the philosophy of Epicurus. Gounaris is also a poet and has published two poetic collections; 'The two Beauties', in which he vividly describes and praises nature's beauty and the beauty of women (thus the title 'two beauties' - nature and women), and 'Past Memories', which contains supernatural poems that describe nightmarish situations and are melancholic. He has also written a short novel titled 'Drunken' in which he describes how alcohol can make you forget all the sadness and misery in the world; the protagonist of the novel, Vladimir, is poor worker who has been abandoned by his wife and been cheated by his best friends. The novel describes his visits in taverns and how he constantly gets drunk in order to forget all his misfortunes.
Gounaris, in his early forties, has not married and lives an almost ascetic life, focused entirely on his literature and philosophical writings. The fact that the woman he loved married a Prince instead of him may have played a role in his way of life. He also did not have much interest in politics and had previously declined appointments in public office, although his family had a tradition of serving the Tsars and his brother was Minister of Public Projects. However, he has been for years a close friend of Lord-Regent Gerlach Trautmann and when his friend asked him to take the office of Foreign Minister at a critical moment for the Empire, he accepted. Gounaris' first task would be to handle the 'British Crisis' and the situation in China, a potentially dangerous situation for the Russian Empire.
"I will do my best to normalize relations with the British Empire", he said, "and assure them that the Russian invasion of the Han Republic does not threaten their assets. In fact, it is the unstable Han regime which threatens their assets. A stable Zhao Empire which will be sole ruler of China will better ensure stability and protect British interests in the Far East."
He also declared his objections to the British invasion of Germany. "It is indeed true that a German takeover of all of Europe would be bad but a military invasion is not the answer. It will only lead to more deaths and misery and will destabilize the area. Russia, as such, cannot support British actions. There is a need for a conference which will solve the European problem peacefully and will restore stability in the area. We offer to hold such a summit in St. Petersburg."
He also acknowledged that "Russia has been at war for far too long and needs peace in order for it to be reconstructed and for the lives of all the subjects of the Tsar to improve. After we have defeated the unstable and hostile to us Han Republic, thus reclaiming our Empire's lost honor, Russia should become a paragon of peace and stability and stop its expansion. We already have all the land we need. It is time for what I call a 'New Policy'. We should look towards economic and not territorial expansion from now on."
As for his relation to George Chicherin he stated: "I respect him and his ideas do have a lot of merit. We may have some ideological disagreements but we shall work together in harmony. I can certainly say that I support his commitment to Russia's traditional values."
