The ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Commonwealth of Australia is the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the prime minister and the government of Australia.
The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Embassy of Russia in Canberra. There is a consulate-general in Sydney. The ambassador of Russia to Australia is concurrently accredited to Fiji, Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The post of Russian ambassador to Australia is currently held by , incumbent since 21 August 2025.
History of diplomatic relations
Contact between Australia and the Russian Empire began in the 1800s with the visit of the Neva to Sydney, then part of the British-administered Colony of New South Wales. Consular relations began in 1857. Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the Commonwealth of Australia were formally established on 10 October 1942. The first envoy, , was appointed on 13 October 1942. Representation was upgraded to the exchange of ambassadors after 1948. On 4 April 1954 the ambassador, , was recalled to Moscow in the wake of the Petrov Affair. Diplomatic representation was thereafter suspended until 3 March 1959, when an agreement was made to exchange ambassadors. Ivan Kurdyukov was appointed on 23 June 1959, and presented his credentials on 10 August 1959. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet ambassador, Vyacheslav Dolgov, continued as representative of the Russian Federation until 1993.
List of representatives (1942–present) Soviet Union to the Commonwealth of Australia (1942–1991) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesEnvoy13 October 19427 December 1944Envoy7 December 194416 July 1953Ambassador after 1948Ambassador16 July 195323 April 1954Ivan KurdyukovAmbassador23 June 19596 February 1963Ambassador6 February 196320 October 1966Ambassador20 October 196624 June 1970Nikolai MesyatsevAmbassador24 June 197014 July 1972Ambassador14 July 197214 January 1975Ambassador14 January 197520 October 1979Nikolai SudarikovAmbassador20 October 197924 April 1983Yevgeny SamoteykinAmbassador24 April 198328 August 1990Vyacheslav DolgovAmbassador28 August 199025 December 1991
Russian Federation to the Commonwealth of Australia (1991–present) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesVyacheslav DolgovAmbassador25 December 199111 November 1993Alexander LosyukovAmbassador11 November 19936 September 1997Rashit KhamidulinAmbassador31 August 199820 July 2001Leonid MoiseyevAmbassador20 July 200110 November 2005Alexander BlokhinAmbassador10 November 200529 June 2010Ambassador29 June 201028 July 2016Ambassador28 July 20163 April 2019Ambassador3 April 201918 April 2025Ambassador21 August 2025
See also
List of ambassadors of Australia to Russia Embassy of Australia, Moscow Foreign relations of Australia Ambassadors of Russia
References
External links