The spirit of Russian-Indonesian relations lies in understanding each other’s interests and in the absence of contradictions

For the readers of the New Eastern Outlook comes an interview with Alexei Drugov, a man personally involved in the establishment and development of cooperation between the USSR, and later Russia, with Indonesia. He is an expert translator with a PhD in political science and history and is a specialist who has brought up many generations of Russian orientalists.

– In this photograph, Sukarno is presenting an award to the Soviet cosmonaut A. Nikolayev. Yours truly is on the left. And in that one, I’m interpreting a conversation between Admiral G. Chernobay and the Indonesian leadership. Here are the next shots…

Professor Drugov carefully turns the pages of an album that preserves the living history of Soviet-Indonesian and Russian-Indonesian relations. And so, unhurriedly and methodically, we are flowing into our conversation about the friendship between nations and the path of the scholar-expert in oriental studies.

– Alexei Yuryevich, which areas of relations with Indonesia did you happen to contribute to?

– In the early 1960s, I worked in the international department of the Komsomol Central Committee, where I was responsible for supporting ties with foreign youth organisations. Later, I became a military translator. The Soviet Union played a key role in the fundamental modernisation of the Indonesian armed forces. Thanks to our effort, they transitioned to modern equipment – missile and jet technology: MiGs, and Tu-16KS. Afterwards, I spent twenty years working in the international department of the CPSU Central Committee. The department was actively involved in shaping foreign policy, and I contributed as a specialist in what pertained to Indonesia. Since 1991, I’ve been engaged in academic work and teaching – it’s been four decades now. I’m deeply grateful to the academician M. Kapitsa for inviting me to the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

– You have probably lost count of how many times you have been to Indonesia and how long you have spent there so far, haven’t you?

– Yes, I probably couldn’t count them now. My most recent trip was on the personal invitation of President Yudhoyono.

– How did you end up opting for Indonesia as your target sphere of interest?

– You know, strangely enough, I didn’t choose Indonesia.

– It was Indonesia to choose you, wasn’t it?

– The state chose the profession for me. When the Department of Oriental Studies was being set up at MGIMO, I was assigned to Indonesian studies.

– Which people influenced your professional development?

– My teachers, L. Mervart, G. Kesselbrenner, E. Gnevucheva. The army also awarded me with an incredible school of hard knocks, the very best one. Later, during my service, I joined the Party. Interpreting was also a school in itself; I interpreted in all sorts of places and situations – from submarines to the co-pilot’s seat in an aircraft, from morgues to meetings with heads of state. And I was also very fortunate with the colleagues I had at every stage of my life.

The sovereignty of a great power

– How would you assess Indonesia’s role in the world today?

– Its goal is to become a great power. It has the world’s fourth-largest........

© New Eastern Outlook