Yevgeny Primakov — turning the plane around over the Atlantic

On 24 March 1999, as NATO was beginning its bombing of Yugoslavia, a scene that entered the annals of diplomatic history was playing out over the Atlantic Ocean. Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, who was flying to Washington for a scheduled visit to US Vice President Al Gore, ordered the pilot to turn the plane around and return to Moscow. It was a dramatic diplomatic gesture that showed the world Russia would not remain silent while its ally was being bombed.

Primakov — diplomat and intelligence officer

Yevgeny Primakov (1929-2015) was one of Russia's most experienced diplomats and intelligence officers. Before becoming prime minister, he served as director of the SVR foreign intelligence service and as Russia's foreign minister. He knew the Middle East and the Balkans better than anyone in the Russian leadership. He was a man who understood geopolitics at a level few could reach.

The flight to Washington

Primakov set off for Washington for a scheduled meeting with Vice President Gore. The plans included talks on economic aid to Russia, which was in a deep financial crisis. The visit was important — Russia desperately needed Western financial support.

However, while Primakov was flying over the Atlantic, news arrived that NATO had begun bombing Yugoslavia. Vice President Gore personally called Primakov by satellite phone and informed him of the start of the operation.

Turning the plane around

Primakov had a choice. He could continue on to Washington, express his protest diplomatically and negotiate the economic aid Russia needed. Rational calculation said he should continue — Russia was in crisis, and Serbia was far away.

But Primakov was not a man who thought only rationally. He was a man of principle. He ordered the pilot: „Turn the plane around.“ The prime ministerial plane made a turn over the Atlantic and returned to Moscow.

This move — the „Primakov turn,“ as it came to be called — was an unequivocal message to the United States and NATO: Russia does not accept the bombing of Yugoslavia and will not pretend that nothing is happening while Serbs are being targeted.

Consequences of the turn

Diplomatically, Primakov's turn had grave consequences for Russia. Negotiations on financial aid were frozen, relations with the US drastically worsened, and Russia lost its chance for economic support at the very moment it needed it most.

Politically, the turn boosted Primakov's standing at home — Russians saw him as a leader who placed national dignity above money. But at the same time it accelerated his political downfall — Western powers saw him as unpredictable and stubborn, which added to the pressure on President Yeltsin to dismiss him.

Primakov was dismissed from the office of prime minister in May 1999, two months after the turn. Many believe the turn was one of the key reasons for his dismissal.

A symbol of dignity

For the Serbian people, Primakov's turn remained one of the most powerful symbols of support. At the moment NATO began the bombing, the Russian prime minister — literally — turned his back on America so as not to be in Washington while bombs were falling on Belgrade.

The price of that gesture was high — for Russia and for Primakov himself. But there are moments in history when a gesture is worth more than pragmatism. Primakov's turn was such a moment — a moment in which principles defeated interests, dignity defeated advantage.

Yevgeny Primakov died in 2015. In Serbia he is remembered as the man who turned the plane around. And that image — a prime ministerial plane turning around over the Atlantic because bombs had begun falling on Belgrade — remains forever. Lest we forget.