Extracts from a memorandum from Jack Molloy
to Frederick H. Boland (London)
(78/30)

As arranged with you, I accepted an invitation to lunch from Mr. Georgi Rodionov, First Secretary at the Soviet Embassy, on the 26th instant. Reports of my previous contacts with Mr. Rodionov are contained in my minutes of the 30th April¹ and the 27th June, 1952² on this file.

Mr. Rodionov, who took me to Kettner’s Restaurant in Soho,³ was his usual genial self. He was wearing a black tie in memory, he said, of Mr. Stalin, although the official period of mourning in the Soviet Union for Stalin’s death was, he said, four days.⁴ Up to about half way through the lunch he engaged me in casual conversation about holidays, the weather etc.

[matter omitted]

About half way through the lunch he asked me to excuse him if he introduced ‘business’. He recalled that I had given him certain information and material about Ireland (see my reports of the 30th April and 27th of June, 1952)⁵ and said again that this information and material had been very useful to him. He now wished to secure more information as to the present political and economic trends in Ireland, and in particular over the last year. He said, for example, that he would be interested to know of the state of, and of the various plans of, the Irish political parties. In reply to a question as to the reason for his desire for this information, he said that his country was interested in the political and economic situation in every country of the world. The Soviet Union was, as I knew, not in relations with several countries, including Ireland; there being no Soviet representative in Dublin, he had perforce to contact us here to secure whatever information he could; he was, as I would appreciate, doing this openly by taking me to lunch in a public restaurant. There was no question of any secret discussions or of anything that he wished to hide. The fact that Ireland was a small country and of less importance perhaps than some other countries was immaterial. He said that he knew that Ireland had refused to accept American aid (I presumed that he was referring to the Mutual Security Act), and that we were not members of the Atlantic Pact. He gave Spain and Portugal as examples of countries with which the Soviet Union was not in relations but about which his authorities were also anxious to have information of political and economic trends. He stressed that his contacts with me and his requests for information about Ireland were in no way to be taken as an indication of, or a preliminary step towards, any action by his Government to establish diplomatic relations between our two countries. If there were any ‘obstacles’ to my giving him the information he required, he asked me to let him know and further stressed that I was not to go to ‘too much trouble’ in the matter.

In reply to a further question as to why he was asking for the information, he said that he had instructions from his Government to do so. He said, with a blank stare, that he did not know the reasons behind these instructions, but he would like to be able to comply with them. Very little was known about Ireland in the Soviet Union and he was anxious to send home as much material as possible. When I said that to my knowledge no official of the Embassy had ever contacted my colleagues or myself in this way, he said that the securing of the information required often depended on the personality of the occupant of the post. He knew that his predecessors had not tried, or had not been able, to secure even as much information as I had already given him. For his part, he said that he would be only too delighted to let me have any information I wanted about conditions in the Soviet Union. At this point he gave me the impression that he alone of his colleagues had up to this succeeded in establishing contact on an official level and in sending what he considered useful material about Ireland to Moscow. It appeared to me that he would, in this connection, like to enhance his reputation by continuing to send material.

I pointed out to Mr. Rodionov that, if he wished to follow conditions in Ireland, he could secure in this country copies of the Dublin daily newspapers and of other Irish magazines, periodicals, etc. He said that he did not know that Irish newspapers circulated in this country (in this connection he asked me whether they were in the English or Irish languages), and that in any event he would not have time to study them. So far as he was aware copies of the Irish newspapers were not received in the Soviet Embassy. He said himself, without prompting, that he knew of the existence of the ‘Irish Democrat’,⁶ but he did not appear to know that this paper is published in this country.

Mr. Rodionov said that he had been informed by the ‘Cultural Attaché’ at the Embassy that there was at present under consideration some question of exchanging books between the University in Moscow and five universities and other societies in Ireland, the names of which he said were:

1. Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Éire, Cork University College.
2. Irish Medical Association, Dublin, 12, Dawson Street.
3. Queen’s University, Belfast.
4. University College, Cork.
5. University of Dublin (Trinity College), Dublin.

He gave me a note, which I attach, in which the names of the above five bodies are set out. Mr. Rodionov said that he was not quite clear whether the suggestion of exchanging books had come from the five bodies named collectively, but the Soviet Embassy would like to have, for the information of the authorities in Moscow, particulars of the bodies mentioned, viz., their size, numbers of students, faculties in which they are interested, particularly, for example, engineering, medicine, etc. He said that his authorities would be very glad to exchange books as requested, but before doing so they wanted to have some details as to the standing of the bodies mentioned, and in the case of the universities the particular books in which they would be interested. He was not at all clear as to how and when the suggestion for exchanging books arose.

I told Mr. Rodionov that I would see what I could do about letting him have up-to-date information about political and economic conditions in Ireland. He stressed that he did not want me to go to any trouble in the matter and to let him know if there were any ‘obstacles’ to my giving him further information, in which event he said that he would understand the position.

On the whole, Mr. Rodionov continues to be genial and companionable and, on the surface, quite likeable. He more or less apologised for not contacting me since June last, saying that he had not until now, owing to pressure of work, much time for seeing his colleagues in the diplomatic corps. On the other hand, he said jokingly that he was rather afraid that he was becoming ‘bourgeois’, in that he found himself becoming quite interested in food and wining and dining, etc. He said that when he was in Moscow he was never interested in such things, that he had no particular likes or dislikes and ate food when he had to.

After the lunch he offered me a lift in the Embassy car which had been parked in a near-by street. The car was a Russian make, driven by a chauffeur, without a uniform. Mr. Rodionov dropped me at Hyde Park Corner and I noticed, for what it was worth, that the chauffeur kept the door of the car open and appeared to be listening whilst Rodionov was saying goodbye to me.