Long isolated from Western Europe, Russia grew up without participating in the development like the Reformation that many Russians taking pride in their unique culture, find dubious value. Russia is, as a result, the most unusual member of European family, if indeed it is European at all. The question is still open to debate, particularly among Russians themselves.

This book is no ordinary book, and should not be read through from beginning to end. It contains many different adventures, and the path you take will depend on the choices you make along the way. The success or failure of your mission will depend on the decisions you make, so think carefully before choosing.

For diplomacy the starting point must be that globalisation requires bridges and removes barriers. A policy of containment is a difficult strategy in the age of the fibre-optic cable, the jumbo jet and the satellite dish. There will always be the exception, such as the murderous regime in Iraq where the only safe strategy is to keep it in the isolation ward until it accepts the norms of international behaviour. Or the military dictatorship in Burma which has persistently failed to respond to dialogue. It takes two to critically engage.