Pictures of Diplomatic Life. Memoirs of a Staff Member of the Russian Empire Mission in Washington, Brussels, and London

Pyotr Sergeyevich Botkin began his career in 1890 as a junior secretary of the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington under the guidance of K.V. Struve. After five years of service in the USA, he worked in Sofia, Lisbon, Brussels, London, Morocco, and Portugal. In 1914, his candidacy, then already that of a chamberlain, an actual state councilor, was considered for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia. Botkin's memoirs are a narrative of the author's life: a happy childhood in his father's house, a famous Russian doctor; the first steps in diplomatic service in Russia, and work in America. He describes events of which he was a witness or participant, the charms and challenges of diplomatic service, and the people he worked with and met.