The ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Thailand is the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the prime minister and the government of Thailand.
The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Embassy of Russia in Bangkok. The ambassador to Thailand is concurrently appointed as the Russian representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. The post of Russian ambassador to Thailand is currently held by , incumbent since 2 November 2018.
History of diplomatic relations
Contacts between the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Siam began in the early 1860s. On 19 February 1863 the Imperial Russian Navy warships and anchored at the port of Bangkok. Siam was also one of the countries visited by explorer Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay, in 1876 and 1877, during his visits to the Asia-Pacific region. Relations between the two countries were particularly strong during the later nineteenth century, with Russia supporting Siam's independence in the face of European colonial expansion. Russia dispatched a naval squadron under Rear-Admiral Avraamy Aslanbegov to represent it at the centennial celebrations of the Chakri dynasty in 1882. There were royal visits between the two countries over the following years, and at the visit of King Chulalongkorn to Emperor Nicholas II in July 1897, diplomatic relations were formalised. On 4 December 1897 Aleksandr Olarovsky was appointed Minister-Resident, and the consulate general of Russia was opened in Bangkok on 14 April 1898.
Relations were warm into the early twentieth century, until the Russian Revolution in 1917 brought an end to the Russian Empire. Diplomatic relations were maintained during the brief period of the Russian Provisional Government, but ended after the October Revolution brought the Bolsheviks to power. Relations between the Soviet Union and Siam were established on 12 March 1941, with the two states agreeing to exchange diplomatic missions in 1947. was appointed as Soviet representative, and the embassy in Bangkok was opened in 1948. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 the Thai government recognized the Russian Federation as successor state of the USSR on 28 December 1991, and both countries have continued to exchange ambassadors.
List of representatives (1897–present) Russian Empire to the Kingdom of Siam (1897–1917) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAleksandr OlarovskyMinister-Resident (until 1906)Plenipotentiary Minister (after 1906)4 December 18979 July 1907Minister-Resident10 August 1907April 1909Plenipotentiary Minister 25 January 19106 May 1916Plenipotentiary Minister 6 May 19162 March 1917
Russian Provisional Government to the Kingdom of Siam (1917) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesPlenipotentiary Minister 3 April 191726 November 1917
Soviet Union to Siam/Thailand (1947–1991) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesEnvoy3 July 194719 December 1950Envoy19 December 19505 January 1956Envoy (until 30 June 1956)Ambassador (after 30 June 1956)21 February 195612 August 1960Ambassador12 August 196030 July 1965Ambassador30 July 196524 July 1969Ambassador22 January 19706 March 1974Ambassador6 March 197422 June 1978Ambassador22 June 197817 October 1984Ambassador17 October 198422 October 1987Ambassador22 October 198721 March 1991Ambassador21 March 199125 December 1991
Russian Federation to Thailand (1991–present) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAmbassador26 December 19916 September 1997Ambassador6 September 199729 January 2001Ambassador29 January 20019 November 2004Yevgeny AfanasyevAmbassador9 November 20043 February 2010Ambassador3 February 201025 August 2014Ambassador25 August 20142 November 2018Ambassador2 November 2018
References