Circling the Lion's Den

Forsyth prefers grey

  

The British writer Frederick Forsyth is unique. He is the only who manages to write novels, which come true: terrorist Carlos took the name Jackal after “The Day of the Jackal”, assassins all over the world are called “Dogs of war”. 

After the operation “Storm in Desert” he wrote the book “The fist of God”. It differs from all his novels. Actually it was the chronicle of real events in the Persian Gulf War, rich in facts like a journalist investigation. “The fist of God” is called an atomic bomb in Saddam’s hands. The book is so brilliant that many readers consider it to be the history of the conflict. In 1996 in the novel “Icon” Forsyth predicted that former secret services’ officers would come to power in Russia.

In the present interview to Irina Borogan the writer tells what he thinks about the war in Iraq, Russia and his new book.

- What’s your attitude to this war? Do you support it?

-This war is over and resistance is collapsed in the war. I don’t think that people were liberated of Hussein. The object of the war was Saddam. Unfortunately 3 thousand civilians were accidentally killed. Saddam was hated by these people and this war is a liberation but not a conquest. In my opinion the left wing in England and France were wrong.

- Are you going to write a new book about this war?

-No, I already wrote everything on the subject ten years ago. There is no S. Hussein now and I am not going to write any more about it.

-After publishing the novel “The fist of God” you haven’t written books based on real historic events. Why don’t you write about Yugoslavia?

-Be a little patient because this book is coming up in September. It is called “Avenger”. 

- Will it be published in Russia? 

-I don’t know yet. But those who published “Icon” were interested in my new book.

- In “Icon” you described future events in Russia. It happened that the book was translated in Russian when V.Putin took up the post of President and many readers compare your Komarov with Putin. 

-I wrote this book in 1996 and the action was in future. It was fictional. But sometimes tomorrow becomes today and today-yesterday. Putin came to power too quickly: from Leningrad to Moscow, from Moscow to Prime Minister then to President. But he was not a considerable figure when I wrote the book in 1996 and Komarov was completely imagined. He wasn’t based of the idea of Jirinovskii and was not supposed to be Putin either. 

 - What do you think about Putin as far as we touched him?

-I think it is Russian tradition to put somebody on the top and call him a holly vojd (the strong man). If he has enough strength you can get purse. I don’t know exactly I was not back since 1996 but it seems that there is stabilized economy. The bad thing is clearly the war in the South and he did a big mistake with the Middle East. He has taken the fight with France and Germany and all the East European countries like Poland, Romania, Czech, Slovakia and Bulgaria have taken a fight with Britain and America. They are too Europe. I think when history is written for this year maybe in 5 years time then it will be a bad choice to support Shirac and Gerhard Schroeder because Schroeder is a fool and Shirac too. 

- Are books based on historic facts interesting for readers any longer? 

-Yes, the story, which we have just been witnessing since December to now, it would making an amazing story. You hardly even need to invent anything. Now five or six Major Office are making up the story concerns with this last war. It is so obviously that so many reasons not being said yet about the things western intelligences knew but couldn’t mention. Unlike the first time the invasion was quick this time there were many western agencies inside Iraq so I think there plenty of information. The other thing is that almost for people like civilians it’s just not understandable the level of sophistication of spying equipment: airplanes, photography by satellite, telephone listening, listening of mobiles, of fax machines and other means. 

- Is it possible now in the age of technology an agent like the character Martin in “The fist of the God”?

-Yes I think it is tradition of British Special Forces that operates in Iraq already 9 weeks. They are moving all over the place. It was the Special Forces that stopped the oil wells being set on fire and capped the wires to the explosives charge under the bridges. They are living in countryside but not seen by anybody.

- In your books you give many details about secret services’ work and the readers absolutely trust you. Now secret services all over the world have become more open. For example, R. Tomlinson, former MI-6 agent, has published his book. So did S.Remingston, former MI-5 chief. Will readers continue to belief novels in these circumstances?

-May be you are right in one sense. But probably agencies like SVR and internal agencies still appear to be more open. They even have public relation services and they have open days. But I don’t think they are open in the work every day, they are still secret. What I think is as taking over from Europe secrecy is machine secrecy. So you never know whether you’ve been watching and whether you’ve been listened to. In this sense they are secret and their entire PR is a game for the Media.

- Now there are three the most popular writers of spying thrillers in Russia: D. le Carre, T.Clancy and you. But Clancy is less liked because he always shows his negative attitude to Russians.

-I think T.Clancy has American view of the Cold War. Americans can recognize only black or white like G.Bush. He doesn’t like the color grey. That’s why 100% white there were Americans and 100% bad there were Russians. But I know sometimes agents of KGB or British SIS wouldn’t differ from each other. They just say: we have the job to do and we have to do it. We can’t say that they hate each other. I tried to say in my book that there were honorable people from the USSR they were not bad some were of course but not all. What they do is acceptably for professional services. Professionals are professionals and they do their job. But there no need estimate them personally.

- Why did you decide to kill Kirpichenko in “The fourth protocol”? 

- I mentioned Mr. Kirpichenko twice maybe and I think he was the deputy chief of operations.

-Yes, you wrote about him absolutely exactly, even the number of the floor of his study was correct. 

- I don’t know, maybe because he occupied the position, which I needed in the novel and I mentioned the real name of a real man like in Jackal I said De Goll as President of France but he really was a president. Why to invent? Let it be Kirpichenko. The first time I mentioned him in “Devil’s alternative”. As told my own people there is not otherwise proceed anything.

-How long are you working on one book?

-About a year, may be a little more than a year. The first is idea. I can sit like a chicken on egg with this idea for one year. And I turn the idea in my head over and over. Then I start a research. May be the research takes me all over the world. When I finish with the research I sit down and write. It takes for two months. 

- How many interviews do you usually take for a novel?

-Up to 60-70. Sometimes it’s interview with people sometimes I need to look at something. If I would describe for example Manege Square I would going stand in it and look: it is here, it is there…When I was writing Icon I went to special section in the Moscow Polis dedicated to breaking against gangster. I spent two days with them. It was not possible under Communism only after. It was quite interesting. I don’t remember the name of the chief of the section but in the book I did him a good guy. Some guys in “Icon” weren’t very good men and some guys were heroes. I tried to give credit to them you know some in Polis are corrupt. But others are good cops trying control criminal Moscow especially violent king crime. There are many gangs in Moscow: Georgian gangs, Armenian gangs, Chechen gangs and Russian gangs. 

- When did you visit Moscow for the first time?

-The first time was in 1978 under Bryejdnev. Last time was in 1996. And it is completely different.

-Are you going back to Moscow?

-I don’t have plans yet.

- Can you understand Russian?

- No, when I was a boy I did study Russian in school. It was an ordinary level. But over years I forgot so much and I was out of practice. If now speaks fluent Russian I could not understand any more. My knowledge is enough to call taxi but not to discuss Pushkin.

- What do you think about role of Russia in the world now?

-Russia had a bad period after falling the communism in 1991. Not many problems were solved and the transition to the capitalism not going very well, there was a big period of gangster culture and a collapse of the ruble. I think if Russia keeps Siberia Russia has enormous raw materials and potential to be extremely rich. It will happen one day.