The ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or formally the ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Court of St James's, is the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the monarch and the government of the United Kingdom.
The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Russian Embassy in London, while the official residence of the ambassador is 13 Kensington Palace Gardens. There is a consulate general in Edinburgh.
The post of ambassador to the United Kingdom is currently vacant, after the previous incumbent was withdrawn on 21 July 2026.
History of diplomatic relations
1553: Beginning of diplomatic relations. 1706: Establishment of the permanent mission in the Kingdom of England. 14 November 1720: Relations freezes as Great Britain (England's successor) refuse to recognize Russia as the empire. 1730: Restoration of diplomatic relations. 1741–1748: Allies in the Austrian War of Succession. 1756–1763: Opponents in the Seven Years' War. 22 November 1800: Emperor Paul imposed sanctions on Great Britain, diplomatic relations interrupted. 24 March 1801: The new Emperor Alexander cancels the sanctions on the request of British monarch George III, relations restored. 25 March 1802: Amiens peace treaty signed. 1803–1805: Allies in the coalition against France.
The United Kingdom established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1924. However, King George V was still upset over the execution of the Romanov family and refused to receive the Soviet ambassador. In a breach of diplomatic protocol, he dispatched the Prince of Wales to accept the Soviet ambassador's credentials.
List of representatives (1556–present) Tsardom of Russia to the Kingdom of England (1556–1707) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesChief of embassy15561557Chief of embassy15821583Chief of embassy16001601Chief of embassy16131613Chief of embassy16621662
Tsardom of Russia to the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1720) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAndrey MatveyevChief of missionMay 17071708Boris KurakinMinister Plenipotentiary17101711Resident17111713Bertram von ShakResident17131717Resident9 June 1717February 1720Mikhail Bestuzhev-RyuminResidentMarch 172014 November 1720Great Northern War: Diplomatic relations interrupted (1720–1730)
Russian Empire to the Kingdom of Great Britain (1731–1801) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAntiokh KantemirResident (before 17 July 1733)Envoy (after 17 July 1733)24 December 1731April 1738Envoy17381739EnvoyJune 1739March 1742Envoy31 December 1741June 1743Envoy20 June 1743August 1746Pyotr ChernyshyovEnvoy14 July 174620 March 1755Aleksandr GolitsynEnvoy17551762Alexander VorontsovEnvoyFebruary 17621764Envoy9 December 17631765Chargé d'affaires17651766EnvoyDecember 1765July 1768Ivan ChernyshevEnvoy1768August 1769Envoy12 August 17695 May 1779Chargé d'affaires17751777Chargé d'affaires17781778Envoy5 May 177914 March 1784Semyon VorontsovEnvoy24 May 17844 May 1800Chargé d'affaires17851785Chargé d'affaires4 May 1800September 1800Malta Question: Diplomatic relations by chargé d'affaires (1800–1801)Yakov SmirnovChargé d'affaires29 September 180025 May 1801
Russian Empire to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1917) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesSemyon VorontsovAmbassador25 May 180115 May 1806Pavel StroganovChargé d'affaires10 May 18067 December 1806Maxim AlopeusSpecial envoy7 December 18062 February 1808Anglo-Russian War: Diplomatic relations suspended (1808–1812)Special envoy30 August 181230 September 1812Chargé d'affaires30 August 181218 September 1812Khristofor LivenAmbassador18 September 181222 May 1834Minister Plenipotentiary7 July 183023 October 1830Pavel MedemChargé d'affaires20 June 183431 January 1835Carlo Pozzo di BorgoAmbassador5 January 183526 December 1839Chargé d'affaires18391840Phillip BrunnovEnvoy17 June 184018 December 1854Crimean War: Diplomatic relations suspended (1854–1856)Envoy30 June 18568 February 1858Phillip BrunnovEnvoy (before 4 December 1860)Ambassador (after 4 December 1860)8 February 185821 May 1870Nikolay OrlovAmbassador appointee21 May 187028 November 1870Was not accreditedPhillip BrunnovAmbassador28 November 187022 July 1874Pyotr ShuvalovAmbassador22 July 187419 October 1879Aleksei Lobanov-RostovskiiAmbassador22 December 187913 July 1882Chargé d'affaires18821882Arthur von MohrenheimAmbassador13 July 18828 February 1884Yegor StaalAmbassador27 March 188430 August 1902Alexander von BenckendorffAmbassador190211 January 1917Konstantin NabokovChargé d'affaires19171917Sergey SazonovAmbassadorJanuary 19173 March 1917Chargé d'affaires19191924Unaccredited by the post-Imperial Russian government
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1918–1923) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesMaxim LitvinovAuthorised representativePlenipotentiary (after June 1918)January 1918September 1918Not accreditedLeonid KrasinPlenipotentiary1920July 1923Not accredited
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1923–1991) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesChristian RakovskyPlenipotentiaryJuly 192330 October 1925Accredited from 1 February 1924Leonid KrasinPlenipotentiary30 October 192524 November 1926Arkady RosengoltsPlenipotentiary192626 May 1927Grigori SokolnikovPlenipotentiaryNovember 192914 September 1932Ivan MaiskyPlenipotentiary (before 9 May 1941)Ambassador (after 9 May 1941)8 November 193212 August 1943Fedor GusevAmbassador12 August 194322 August 1946Georgy ZarubinAmbassador28 September 194613 June 1952Andrei GromykoAmbassador13 June 1952May 1953Yakov MalikAmbassadorMay 195311 January 1960Ambassador11 January 196025 January 1966Mikhail SmirnovskyAmbassador25 January 196627 April 1973Ambassador27 April 19735 November 1980Ambassador20 November 198010 April 1986Leonid ZamyatinAmbassador10 April 198618 November 1991Boris PankinAmbassador19 November 199125 December 1991
Russian Federation to the United Kingdom (1991–present) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesBoris PankinAmbassador25 December 199116 September 1993Anatoly AdamishinAmbassador5 September 19946 June 1997Ambassador6 June 199720 January 2000Grigory KarasinAmbassador6 March 20009 June 2005Yuri FedotovAmbassador9 June 200527 August 2010Alexander YakovenkoAmbassador24 January 201126 August 2019Andrey KelinAmbassador5 November 201922 August 2026
See also List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Russia
References