The ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Yugoslavia was the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the president and the government of Yugoslavia.
The position of Soviet ambassador to Yugoslavia lasted from the first establishment of relations between the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1940, until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. This encompassed the period of the Yugoslav government-in-exile between 1941 and 1945, and the establishment of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945. Relations were briefly broken off between 1949 and 1953, and continued thereafter, including after the renaming of the state as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1963 until 1992. Representation was maintained between the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union's successor, the Russian Federation, until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992. Thereafter the Russian Federation maintained relations with many of Yugoslavia's successor states, including Serbia and Montenegro, otherwise known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia between 1992 and 2003, and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro from 2003 and 2006. After the separation of this union into the independent countries of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, the Russian Federation continues to appoint representatives to both of them.
History of diplomatic relations
Diplomatic exchanges between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia began with the formal establishment of relations on 24 June 1940, towards the very end of the existence of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and shortly before its invasion and occupation by Axis forces the following year. The first Soviet representative, , was appointed on 26 June 1940, and presented his credentials on 12 July 1940. With the invasion and occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941, a Yugoslav government-in-exile was established, eventually settling in London. The , representative to many of the governments-in-exile that were based in London during the occupation of their countries, was accredited to the Yugoslav government-in-exile from 21 August 1941 onwards. During the war, power shifted to the hands of the Partisan movement, led by Josip Broz Tito, and with the expulsion of Axis forces towards the end of the war, Tito formed a government to which the Soviet Union duly accredited as its first ambassador. Sadchikov was succeeded by Anatoly Lavrentiev in 1946, but relations between Titov and Stalin soured during the second half of the 1940s, and diplomatic relations were broken off in 1949. They were only restored in 1953 following Stalin's death in March that year, and in June 1953 Vasily Valkov was appointed the new Soviet ambassador. Relations were maintained thereafter, including during the changing of the country's name to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963, with the last Soviet ambassador, Gennady Shikin, being appointed in September 1991. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Shikin remained as ambassador of the Russian Federation, and continued to serve during the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992.
With the breakup of Yugoslavia, many of the former constituent republics declared independence and established themselves as separate nations. The Russian Federation duly established relations and appointed ambassadors to them: to Croatia in 1992, to Slovenia in 1994, to Bosnia and Herzegovina and to Macedonia in 1996. The former republics of Serbia and Montenegro combined to form the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992, and Shikin continued as ambassador in Belgrade to this state until 1996. In 2003 the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was officially renamed the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and three years later was dissolved to form the separate states of Serbia, and Montenegro. The incumbent ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro, , continued as ambassador to Serbia, while a new ambassador, , was appointed ambassador to Montenegro in 2007.
List of representatives (1940–1992) Soviet Union to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1940–1941) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesPlenipotentiary26 June 19408 May 1941
Soviet Union to the Yugoslav government-in-exile (1941–1945) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAleksandr BogomolovAmbassador21 August 194112 November 1943Nikolai NovikovAmbassador31 October 194316 November 1944Ambassador16 November 194413 March 1945
Soviet Union to the Socialist Yugoslavia (1945–1991) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAmbassador13 March 194526 February 1946Anatoly LavrentievAmbassador13 March 194616 August 1949Tito–Stalin split and Informbiro period - Diplomatic relations interrupted (1949 - 1953)Vasily ValkovAmbassador27 June 195323 August 1955Nikolay FiryubinAmbassador23 August 19551 October 1957Ambassador1 October 195727 November 1960Alexei YepishevAmbassador27 November 196030 June 1962Alexander PuzanovAmbassador30 June 196212 April 1967Ivan BenediktovAmbassador12 April 196719 January 1971Ambassador19 January 197116 May 1978Ambassador16 May 197827 May 1986Ambassador27 May 198628 November 1988Ambassador28 November 198820 September 1991Gennady ShikinAmbassador20 September 199125 December 1991
Russian Federation to the Socialist Yugoslavia (1991–1992) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesGennady ShikinAmbassador25 December 199128 April 1992
Russian Federation to Serbia and Montenegro (1992–2006) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesGennady ShikinAmbassador28 April 199229 January 1996Ambassador29 January 199631 December 1999Ambassador31 December 19997 February 2002Vladimir IvanovskyAmbassador7 February 200222 September 2004Ambassador22 September 20045 June 2006
Appointment of representatives to successor nations PostNameAppointmentNotesAmbassador to Croatia8 September 1992Ambassador to Slovenia23 December 1994Ambassador to Macedonia25 September 1996Ambassador to Bosnia and HerzegovinaDecember 1996Ambassador to Serbia5 June 2006Ambassador to Montenegro29 January 2007
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