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Ambassadors’ wives quit Canberra club over Russian membership vote
A Canberra social club has become embroiled in a public dispute after the wives of the Ukrainian, Italian and Estonian ambassadors resigned over members voting to admit the Russian ambassador’s wife. Ukraine’s ambassador, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, said the club’s president called the three women “bigots” at a meeting; president Sandie Kaine denies using the term.
The alleged remark was said to have been made at the club’s annual general meeting on 28 October, attended by about 250 people. Former member Marta Stachurski, who also resigned, says she heard it and argued that objecting to socialising with representatives of Russia over its invasion of Ukraine is a matter of principle. The club says it has more than 300 members from 50 countries and promotes friendship and cultural exchange.
In short
- Three diplomats’ wives resigned after the club admitted the Russian ambassador’s wife.
- Ukraine’s ambassador alleges the president called them “bigots”; she denies it.
- A former member says she heard the remark at the 28 October meeting.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The club can argue that admitting the Russian ambassador’s wife supports its purpose of building friendship and cultural exchange among people from many countries, and need not imply approval of Russia’s invasion. Keeping a social organisation open across national lines may help preserve dialogue, while members should be able to disagree without being personally disparaged; the president denies using the reported insult.
The case against
The resigning members can argue that socialising with an official representative of Russia while it wages war on Ukraine risks treating the invasion as ordinary and conflicts with solidarity for those affected. They may regard refusing membership or withdrawing as a principled act, rather than hostility to Russian people generally, and say that the alleged insult dismissed that distinction.
Explained simply
Canberra’s diplomatic community includes ambassadors and their families, who may join local organisations to meet people and take part in cultural and social events. The club at the centre of the dispute says it brings together members from dozens of countries and promotes friendship and cultural exchange.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the war has shaped relations between Russia and Ukraine and affected how some people view social contact with Russian representatives. The dispute involves the Ukrainian, Italian and Estonian ambassadors’ wives, who left after the club voted to admit the Russian ambassador’s wife.
The club’s president, Sandie Kaine, and Ukraine’s ambassador, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, give different accounts of what was said at a meeting. Their disagreement has drawn attention to how a social club balances its aim of bringing people together with members’ differing views about the war.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Messy falling out tears Australia’s diplomatic wives’ society apart: Inside the war engulfing the Women’s International Club as mass walkout sparks wild ‘bigot’ allegation”.