MOSCOW. SEPTEMBER 27, 2023. PIR PRESS. “On September 27, 2022, PIR Center began its work on elaborating the three-volume anthology to commemorate Ambassador Roland Timerbaev. In particular, PIR Center established the Commission for the Preservation of Ambassador Roland Timerbaev Scientific and Creative Legacy, which unites experienced diplomats and researchers from Russia and abroad who have known Ambassador Timerbaev and have contributed significantly to the nuclear nonproliferation agenda, disarmament, and international security. A year later, we are happy to announce the enlargement of the Commission”, — Elena Karnaukhova, PIR Center Deputy Director – Education & Training Program Director, Executive Secretary of the Commission for the Preservation of Ambassador Roland Timerbaev Scientific and Creative Legacy.
Ambassador Roland Timerbaev was well-known as a founding father of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1968, which is by now one of the most crucial elements of the international security architecture. He was one of the leading nuclear nonproliferation experts and a member of the Soviet delegations at the negotiations on developing the regulatory framework within the nuclear nonproliferation and arms control regimes. He was a prominent diplomat, a good friend, and a reliable colleague — the list of words that can describe Ambassador Timerbaev is infinite.
It is indispensable to emphasize his invaluable contribution to the development of PIR Center. From 1994 to 1998, Roland Timerbaev performed the duties of PIR Center President. From 1999 to 2010, he was a member of PIR Center Executive Board, and later, till the end of his days, Ambassador Timerbaev was a member of PIR Center Advisory Board. PIR Center reveres the memory of Roland Timerbaev, whose name is known and remembered not only in Russia but worldwide, and PIR Center will continue preserving his legacy.
In this regard, in 2022, PIR Center established the Commission for the Preservation of Ambassador Roland Timerbaev Scientific and Creative Legacy. Chaired by Dr. Vladimir Orlov, PIR Center Founding Director, the Commission unites government officials and experts from Russia and abroad who have known Ambassador Timerbaev and have contributed significantly to the nuclear nonproliferation agenda, disarmament, and international security.
Let us also remind you that in 2022, the following experts joined the Commission: Alexey Arbatov, Head of the Center for International Security, IMEMO RAS, member of PIR Center Advisory Board; Grigory Berdennikov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (retired); Sergio Duarte, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, member of PIR Center Advisory Board (Brazil); Dastan Eleukenov, Chairman of the Board of the Kazakhstan Agency for International Development (KazAID), member of PIR Center Advisory Board (Kazakhstan); Sergey Kislyak, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs; Mikhail Lysenko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (retired), Deputy Head of the International Law Department of MGIMO University, member of PIR Center Advisory Board; William Potter, Founding Director of James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, member of PIR Center Advisory Board (USA); Vladimir Rybachenkov, Counsellor to the Russian Foreign Ministry (retired), member of PIR Center Advisory Board; Viktor Slipchenko, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Envoy (retired), member of PIR Center Advisory Board; Mikhail Ulyanov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to International Organizations in Vienna; Andrey Zagorski, Head of the Department of Disarmament and Conflict Resolution Studies, Center for International Security, IMEMO RAS, member of PIR Center Advisory Board; Albert Zulkharneev, Head of the Representative Office of Rossotrudnichestvo-Russian House in Bishkek, member of PIR Center Advisory Board.
On September 27, 2023, PIR Center is glad to announce the enlargement of the Commission. In particularly, the Commission has been joined by Robert Einhorn, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, member of PIR Center Advisory Board; Laura Rockwood, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation; Matthew Bunn, James R. Schlesinger Professor of the Practice of Energy, National Security and Foreign Policy, Harvard Kennedy School; Nabil Fahmy, Dean Emeritus of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, the American University in Cairo, member of PIR Center Advisory Board; Tariq Rauf, Former Head of Verification and Security Policy Coordination, Office reporting to Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency, member of PIR Center Advisory Board.
Some of them have already shared their memories about Ambassador Roland Timerbaev:
“Ambassador Roland Timerbaev was an unparalleled champion for nuclear arms control and international peace and security globally, as well as for the Russian Federation and previously for the Soviet Union. In his enduring legacy are the seminal Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the IAEA safeguards (verification) system to ensure the peaceful uses of nuclear energy while preventing its misuse for nuclear weapons”, — Tariq Rauf, Former Head of Verification and Security Policy Coordination, Office reporting to Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency, member of PIR Center Advisory Board.
“Ambassador Timerbaev was a profound human being. He had exceptional knowledge of National Security issues and believed everyone’s security is safeguarded through cooperation rather than polarization and confrontation. Early on, I learned much from him. As a senior official and then as an academic, I had numerous occasions to witness his stalwart pursuit of problem-solving”, — Nabil Fahmy, Dean Emeritus of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, the American University in Cairo, member of PIR Center Advisory Board.
“When at the height of the Cold War Washington and Moscow were able to find common ground and prevent their competition from spiraling out of control, it was because of diplomats like Roland Timerbaev. He was a skillful defender of his country’s interests who gained the respect and admiration of his American counterparts with his deep expertise, non-polemical manner, and determination to overcome problems. His formidable diplomatic tools included honesty, reliability, integrity, and decency”, — Robert Einhorn,Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, member of PIR Center Advisory Board.
The main task in front of the Commission remains, which is the elaboration on the three-volume anthology that would cover the history of the international nuclear nonproliferation regime based on the articles, highlights from monographs, fragments from the working paper archive, and personal diaries of Roland Timerbaev. Thus, in 2023, PIR Center has already published the Anthology of Roland Timerbaev (in Russian), which collected the most memorable works of Ambassador Timerbaev, published under the auspices of PIR Center. By 2027, which will commemorate the 100th anniversary of Roland Timerbaev, PIR Center seeks to complete the elaboration on the rest two parts of the three-volume anthology.
To commemorate Roland Timerbaev, from 2020, PIR Center has been holding annual International Timerbaev Nuclear Debates for young international relations specialists from Russia and abroad. Apart from that, PIR Center has been working on the digitalization of the archive of Roland Timerbaev. Today, on September 27, 2023, PIR Center is glad to share the digital copy of the Timerbaev’s book dedicated to the issue of the prohibition of nuclear tests. The book can be found here (in Russian).
If you have any questions regarding the archive of Ambassador Roland Timerbaev and the work of the Commission for the Preservation of Ambassador Roland Timerbaev Scientific and Creative Legacy, please contact Elena Karnaukhova, PIR Center Deputy Director – Education & Training Program Director, via email karnaukhova@pircenter.org.
Key words: Memory Gallery
EDU/TIM
