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INTERNATIONAL

The History of the League of Nations

– One More Page Unveiled

In the new book by Marit Fosse and Ekaterina Pinchevskaya

Marit Fosse, Diva Editor-in-Chief, is In previous years, while still working on the
passionate about archives, going back to Nansen book, Marit was greatly interested in
sources and restoring history. She loves to many humanitarian issues such as refugees,
research humanitarianism in Geneva, and especially on the tragedy of those who became
especially the League of Nations. stateless. This inspired the Sokoline biography,
her second book about statelessness after her
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Her world-renowned books include book about Diakonoff , the painter of Russian
“League of Nations ”, written jointly with descent. The fact that Sokoline was Under-
1
John Fox, and “Sean Lester ”, a biography Secretary-General of the League of Nations
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of the last Secretary-General of the captured Fosse’s interest and resulted in this
League. All her books required much book.
research; sometimes years of work. Soon,
one more page in the League’s history These days Sokoline is an almost unknown
will be revealed by her new book, due figure. He has been called one of the most
to be published in French early 2024 at puzzling figures in the diplomatic and
editions Slatkine: “Like a Novel: The international world. He is also considered
Fascinating Life of Vladimir Sokoline” . as an enigmatic and controversial people in
Russian diplomacy. He was born in Geneva,
As with some of her previous books, this book Switzerland, to Russian revolutionary
is dedicated to a real person and describes emigrants who were studying medicine in
events that took place as seen by the main Switzerland. When he was four months
book character. Her book about Nansen old, his parents gave him to a Swiss family
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described his humanitarian activities during for adoption, so he grew up in Switzerland.
the First World War and the establishment His real name was Shapiro: Sokoline began
of the League of Nations, as well as his role as a nickname, but he used it as his official
as first Commissioner for Refugees of the name. One source shows he studied partly
League. Her Sean Lester book described in Switzerland partly in Russia, and was fully
events during WWII until the last days of the bilingual, while others indicate that he went
League in 1945. to Russia in 1915, at the age 19, to fulfil his
military duty and patriotic feelings to join the
The new book, “Like a Novel” is the result of Russian Army. This last is what he Sokoline
three years of work and is deeply researched. himself wrote in his autobiography «Ciel
Co-authored with her colleague, Ekaterina et terre soviétiques», published in 1948 in
Pinchevskaya, it was finished at the end of Switzerland.
2021. Also at that time, Marit Fosse was
invited to Moscow Academy of Science to He fought In the First World War and was
present her book on the greatest humanitarian wounded, staying on in Russia to take part
of our times, Nansen. Her book on Nansen in the establishment of Soviet power after the
was translated into Russian and had success October Revolution. He was an assistant to
among Russian-speakers. Now, the book about L.B. Kamenev, and personally knew many of
Sokoline has been premiered in Moscow in the country’s leaders. He traveled with food
Russian, as it is dedicated to the first and only detachments, worked in rural areas, and then in
Soviet representative to the League of Nations the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs.
from 1937-1939. He was highly regarded by his colleagues,

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