Cossack Diplomacy

Zaporozhian Cossacks of Ukraine Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan by Ilya Repin

There is a famous old Ukrainian tale about the independent spirit of the Ukrainains. The story goes that the Ottoman Sultan, Mohammed IV, wrote a letter in the mid-17th century demanding the Cossacks of Ukraine to voluntarily accept Turkish rule. Ivan Sirko, the ataman of the Zaporozhian Host, one of the Cossack clans, replied with one of the most defiant (and insulting) letters in diplomatic history. The letter is reproduced here in both English and Ukrainian. Here is an excerpt:

Thou Turkish Devil!
Brother and companion to the accursed Devil, and Secretary to Lucifer himself, Greetings!
[...]
Thou scullion of Babylon, thou beer-brewer of Jerusalem, thou goat thief of Alexandria, thou swineherd of Egypt, both the Greater adn the Lesser, thou Armenian pig and Tartar goat.
[...]
That is what the Cossacks have to say to thee, thou basest form of runts!
[...]
… and thou canst kiss us thou knowest where!

Read it in it’s entirety, it is pretty hilarious.

The writing of this letter is captured in the painting above by Ilya Repin which depicts the Cossacks surrounding a table and having a lark of a time coming up with insults. (See a larger version here) The letter was composed in the 1660’s, but we don’t know if it was actually sent out, or circulated as humorous literature. Either way it makes you think twice about the linguistic hoops our modern-day diplomats have to jump through.

via Infoukes.com