After Gryzlov's righteous rebuke, Kolov could barely keep his face.
His face flushed red as he reached up to scratch his head, leaving his graying hair in disarray.
Several times, he wanted to interrupt Gryzlov, but Gryzlov gave him no chance.
When Gryzlov finally finished, he hurriedly defended himself.
"This can't all be blamed on me!
Everyone understands that weak countries have no diplomacy.
Look at our country's economic development over the years. Look at our total GDP—it has fallen outside the world's top ten!
On top of that, our former national system was hostile to the European and American countries.
So even though we have now become a free and democratic society like those countries, acceptance takes time..."
Before he could finish, Zhirinov, who had never gotten along with him, let out a cold chuckle.
"A weak country?
What, so in Comrade Kolov's eyes, Russia has become a weak country?
No wonder you are always hesitant and submissive when conducting diplomacy. You cannot even speak with any backbone. How could anyone possibly respect you like that?
If you ask me, the main problem is that you, as the person in charge, are too spineless. You have none of the pride Russians ought to have, which is why we are looked down upon everywhere in the international community and our stance keeps getting lower and lower!
On this point, I think Mikhail is countless times better than you.
He is passionate about his work, neither arrogant nor servile when facing anyone. When fighting for our country's interests, he argues on solid grounds and never yields an inch!
Those are the qualities a qualified diplomat should possess!
Therefore, I support Mikhail becoming chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. No matter what, he would do a better job than you!"
Those words