Daniel Semyonovich Solod (; 1908–1988) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

diplomat and orientalist.
A Short Political Guide To The Arab World
' He began working in the Soviet diplomatic corps in 1937. In 1940 and 1941 he served as officer at the Soviet embassy in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. He was then transferred to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, where he served as an officer at the Soviet embassy from 1941 to 1943. From 1944 to 1950 he was the Soviet consul to Egypt. He served as the Soviet envoy to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. From 1953 to 1956 he returned to Egypt, as the Soviet envoy (becoming ambassador in 1954). Returning from Egypt, he was put in charge of the Near East department at the Soviet Foreign Ministry. Between 1959 and 1962 he was the Soviet ambassador to

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

. After returning from Guinea, he worked at the Africa Institute of the

Academy of Sciences of the USSR The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (u ...

until 1970.
Očerki istorii Ministerstva Inostrannych Del Rossii 1917 - 2002 gg. 2
'. Moscow: Olma-press, 2002. p. 374

In Egypt

Solod served as the Soviet envoy to Egypt in run-up to the

1956 Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

, and held discussions with

Gamal Abdul Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

regarding arms imports from the Soviet Union. Solod also maintained contacts with the Egyptian government in discussions on Soviet aid to the construction of

Aswan Dam The Aswan Dam, or Aswan High Dam, is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. When it was completed, it was the tallest earthen dam in the world, surpassing the Chatuge D ...

. Apart from the contacts with the Egyptian government, he also maintained contacts with local communists. From 1955 onwards, he advised Egyptian communists to recognize Nasser as a "

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

nationalist".

In Guinea

Solod was appointed ambassador to Guinea on 30 December 1959. He succeeded Pavel Gerasimov. However, Solod's stay in Guinea was terminated by a diplomatic crisis between the two states. In November 1961, Guinean president

Ahmed Sékou Touré Ahmed Sékou Touré (var. Sheku Turay or Ture; N'Ko: ; 9 January 1922 – 26 March 1984) was a Guinean political leader and African statesman who was the first president of Guinea from 1958 until his death in 1984. Touré was among the primary ...

accused Solod of being involved in the so-called "teachers' plot" (an alleged coup attempt by radical elements of the teachers' union). During a diplomatic reception in

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

, Touré's presidential protocol officer pulled Solod out and directed him to immediately go to the Guinean Foreign Ministry. At the Foreign Ministry, he was informed that he was ''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...

'' in Guinea and that he had to leave the country at once. Solod's actual role in the alleged plot is believed to have been very marginal.Stevens, Chris (1971
"Africa and the Soviet Union"
''

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

''; 3; 1014. In January 1962 the Soviet Union sent a new ambassador to Guinea,

Dmitry Degtyar Dmitry (); Church Slavic form: Dimitry or Dimitri (); ancient Russian forms: D'mitriy or Dmitr ( or ) is a male given name common in Orthodox Christian culture, the Russian version of Demetrios (, ). The meaning of the name is "devoted to, dedic ...

. Although the Soviet Union tried to downplay the rift between the two states after Solod's departure, the Solod affair contributed to a weakening of Soviet-Guinean relations and an opening for increased links between Guinea and the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

.Klinghoffer, Arthur Jay.
Soviet Perspectives on African Socialism
'. Rutherford .J. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1969. p. 108"Slap for Red Pals"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. 5 January 1962.Anda, Michael O.
International Relations in Contemporary Africa
'. Lanham, Md: University Press of America, 2000. p. 235

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solod, Daniel 1908 births 1988 deaths Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Guinea Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Egypt Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Syria Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Lebanon