Yesterday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova made a rude statement, which constitutes a blatant interference in Italy’s internal affairs.
The Russian ambassador was immediately summoned. Italian media and social networks rightly expressed outrage at Russia’s deviations.
In situations of obvious embarrassment, Russia always applies the same tactic – it attacks and becomes even ruder, much like in a well-known Soviet joke.
First, it was a counselor-envoy, not the ambassador, who went to speak with the Italians.
Second, the Russians insulted the Italian Foreign Ministry for “tactlessness,” since the ambassador was summoned on November 4, a national holiday. They also claimed that the Italian MFA “does not know how to work” and “fails to respond to requests for meetings on bilateral issues.”
Third, they included a paragraph that deserves to be quoted:
“During the meeting, the Russian side lodged a decisive protest regarding the crude and disgusting anti-Russian campaign unleashed by Rome in the media, the pretext for which was the justified concern of the official representative of the Russian MFA, M.V. Zakharova, over the underfunding of Italy’s cultural and historical heritage sector due to the thoughtless spending of Italian taxpayers’ money to support the criminal terrorist regime in Ukraine, which came to power as a result of the bloody coup in February 2014 and launched a war against the Russian-speaking residents of Donbas and Novorossiya.”
In other words, according to Zakharova, it is Meloni’s fault that Putin attacked Ukraine, and she gets to behave rudely.
Why a Russian MFA official is “justifiably concerned” about funding something in Italy is a mystery. It’s none of her business by definition.
Meanwhile, the passage about Ukraine clearly reveals the current state of mind…
And here’s the coincidence.
For the past couple of weeks, rumors have been circulating in the Russian information space and abroad that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is out of favor and losing influence. Allegedly, he is blamed for sabotaging a meeting between Trump and Putin in Budapest, supposedly being too rigid, which provoked Rubio, influenced Trump, and caused chaos.
Lavrov’s supporters reject these insinuations, claiming he was simply following directives from the Kremlin.
My conspiratorial theory is this: Lavrov is trying to get himself expelled from the “Gestapo” for being too harsh.
Lavrov is a criminal, but an experienced and intelligent one. At 75, he should already be enjoying a secure retirement with honor and respect.
In spring 2025, when U.S.–Russia contacts resumed, Lavrov (like Ushakov) could have had a spectacular career peak if Russia had exited the war on comfortable terms with prospects for continued global maneuvering. But Putin chose the path of Russia’s strategic defeat, with the risk of the country’s disintegration.
It’s unlikely that Lavrov, who has been foreign minister “since the time of Jesus Christ” (as Rutte puts it), wants such an end to his career. But he apparently cannot leave gracefully – he would receive no guarantees. So he is working to ensure he is expelled with honor. After all, he has technically broken no rules – he is simply demonstrating excessive zeal.
Surely, within the Russian MFA, not only the minister is looking for a way out, but wants to do so without being accused of treason. The best approach is through excessive harshness: fade into the shadows, then legalize oneself in a decent country during the next stage…
In a decent country, one might be forgiven, but forgiveness from Ukraine must be earned. Places are limited.
