List of ambassadors of Russia to Romania

The Ambassador of Russia to Romania is the official representative of the President and the Government of the Russian Federation to the President and the Government of Romania.

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Romania
Emblem of the Russian Foreign Ministry
Incumbent
Valery Kuzmin [ru]
since 7 June 2016
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Embassy of Russia in Bucharest
StyleHis Excellency
The Honourable
Reports toMinister of Foreign Affairs
SeatBucharest
AppointerPresident of Russia
Term lengthAt the pleasure of the President
WebsiteEmbassy of Russia in Romania

The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Russian embassy in Bucharest.[1] There is a consulate general in Constanța. The current Russian ambassador to Romania is Valery Kuzmin [ru], incumbent since 7 June 2016.[2]

History of diplomatic relations

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Diplomatic relations between the regions that now constitute Romania and the Russian Federation date back to the medieval period. The Tsardom of Russia offered support for the Danubian Principalities during their struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire. Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great concluded a military-political alliance with Russia in the fifteenth century, sealed by the marriage of his daughter Elena to Ivan the Young, the son and heir of Ivan III. Wallachian ruler Michael the Brave also advocated an alliance with Russia towards the end of the sixteenth century.[3] Relations continued to be strengthed after the establishment of the Russian Empire, with the 1711 Treaty of Lutsk between Peter the Great and Moldovan leader Dimitrie Cantemir; and the establishment of permanent diplomatic relations between Wallachia and Russia during the 1688-1714 reign of Constantin Brâncoveanu.[3]

In the nineteenth century, following the 1828-1829 Russo-Turkish War, Russia established a protectorate over the Danube principalities, with Count Pavel Kiselyov serving as plenipotentiary representative of the councils of Moldova and Wallachia between 1829 and 1834. Kiselyov oversaw various reforms to public administration, and the adoption of the Regulamentul Organic.[3] Following the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War, which included the Romanian War of Independence and the defeat and expulsion of the Ottoman Empire, Russia recognised Romanian independence, and on 15 October 1878, Baron Dmitry Stuart [ru] presented his credentials to the Romanian prince, and later king, Carol I.[3] 15 October 1878 is now considered the official date for the establishment of Russian-Romanian diplomatic relations.[3]

Diplomatic relations continued into the twentieth century, interrupted by the October Revolution in 1917. The Soviet Union and Romania maintained a bilateral dialogue, with Maxim Litvinov of the Soviet Union and Nicolae Titulescu of Romania co-operating on the signing of the 1933 London Convention on the Definition of Aggression.[3] This was followed with the re-establishment of diplomatic relations on 9 June 1934.[3][4] Relations were once more suspended on 22 June 1941 after the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, and remained so during most of the Second World War.[4] They were re-established on 6 August 1945, after the defeat of the Axis powers, and between 20 and 24 August the mission was upgraded to the level of an embassy.[3][5] During the Cold War Romania was a member of the Warsaw Pact, and with the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, the Russian Federation emerged as the Soviet Union's legal successor. The incumbent ambassador of the Soviet Union to Romania, Feliks Bogdanov [ru], continued as representative of Russia until 1992.[5]

List of representatives (1878 - present)

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Representatives of the Russian Empire to Romania (1878-1917)

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Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Baron Dmitry Stuart [ru] Minister resident 15 October 1878 31 January 1879
Aleksandr Yakobson Head of mission 20 February 1879 3 January 1881
Lev Usurov [ru] Envoy 2 December 1880 3 June 1886
Mikhail Khitrovo [ru] Envoy 3 June 1886 9 April 1891
Nikolai Fonton Envoy 9 April 1891 23 August 1902
Mikhail von Giers Envoy 1902 1912
Nikolai Shebeko [ru] Envoy 1912 1913
Stanisav Poklevsky-Kozell [ru] Envoy 1913 1916
Aleksandr Mosolov [ru] Envoy 1916 3 March 1917

Representatives of the Soviet Union to Romania (1934-1991)

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Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Mikhail Ostrovsky [ru] Diplomatic representative 3 November 1934 6 February 1938
Anatoly Lavrentiev Diplomatic representative (before 9 May 1941)
Envoy (after 9 May 1941)
14 June 1940 22 June 1941
Second World War – Diplomatic relations interrupted (1941–1945)
Sergey Kavtaradze Envoy (before August 1945)
Ambassador (after August 1945)
15 August 1945 7 July 1952
Anatoly Lavrentiev Ambassador 7 July 1952 17 July 1953
Leonid Melnikov Ambassador 28 July 1953 7 April 1955
Alexei Yepishev Ambassador 14 August 1955 27 November 1960
Ivan Zhegalin [ru] Ambassador 27 November 1960 15 December 1965
Aleksandr Basov [ru] Ambassador 15 December 1965 16 March 1971
Vasily Drozdenko [ru] Ambassador 16 March 1971 30 November 1982
Yevgeny Tyazhelnikov [ru] Ambassador 27 December 1982 7 June 1990
Feliks Bogdanov [ru] Ambassador June 1990 25 December 1991

Representatives of the Russian Federation to Romania (1991-present)

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Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Feliks Bogdanov [ru] Ambassador 25 December 1991 31 December 1992
Yevgeny Ostrovenko [ru] Ambassador 31 December 1992 9 October 1997
Valery Kenyaikin [ru] Ambassador 9 October 1997 21 January 2002
Aleksandr Tolkach [ru] Ambassador 21 January 2002 28 June 2006
Aleksandr Churilin Ambassador 28 June 2006 15 December 2011
Oleg Malginov [ru] Ambassador 15 December 2011 7 June 2016
Valery Kuzmin [ru] Ambassador 7 June 2016

References

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  1. ^ "Посольство Российской Федерации в Румынии" (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia). Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Посол" (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia). Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "История" (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia). Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Полномочное представительство - Миссия СССР в Румынии" (in Russian). Справочник по истории Коммунистической партии и Советского Союза 1898 - 1991. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Миссия - Посольство СССР в Румынии" (in Russian). Справочник по истории Коммунистической партии и Советского Союза 1898 - 1991. Retrieved 16 April 2021.