A remarkable scene of peaceful, and even enjoyable coexistence, was witnessed at the weekend in Foley's pub on Dublin's Merrion Row. American tourists and Russian businessmen, in town for a major conference, "Transition to the Market Economy", enjoyed a wonderful boozy evening together. The Americans stayed mainly with the Guinness while the Moscovites got stuck into the Irish whiskey. Jokes and anecdotes were exchanged and the evening ended in a joint Russo-American sing-song. Star of the show was the tall, suave and extremely urbane, Yuri Kobaladze, an impressive business figure these days as managing director of the major Moscow investment firm Renaissance Capital. He was a big hit with the Americans, who regarded him as the epitome of the new Russia and a far cry from those Cold War stereotypes who indulged in nasty espionage tricks.
But Kobaladze didn't tell the Americans everything about himself; significant facts were omitted from his conversations. The go-ahead businessman was once known as General Yuri Georgevich Kobaladze of the KGB and Koba to colleagues - a nom-de-guerre once used by Stalin. As a colonel, Koba had been an agent in London, undercover as a foreign correspondent for Radio Moscow.
When dramatic political changes take place, Russians philosophically quote the proverb: "New Times, New Songs". Many's the new song got an airing in Foley's at the weekend.