The ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of the Philippines is the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the president and the government of the Philippines.
The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Embassy of Russia in Manila. The post of Russian ambassador to the Philippines is currently held by Marat Pavlov, incumbent since 21 September 2020. The ambassador to the Philippines is also the non-resident ambassador to Palau, and the Marshall Islands.
History of diplomatic relations
The Russian Empire's far eastern expansion during the nineteenth century brought it into contact with the countries of Southeast Asia, which provided a source of food and raw materials for the new territories, which could not be easily supplied from within the empire. Peter Dobell, an Irish-born American businessman living in the region, arranged for trade relations with the Russian Far East, and was in 1817 appointed the Russian consul general in Manila under the name Pyotr Vasilievich Dobel. He acted as an unofficial representative of the Russian government, a role later fulfilled largely by French merchants prior to the 1917 revolution. Following the establishment of Soviet rule, links were initially maintained via the Communist International, but gradually died out in the face of official Philippine opposition. Following Philippine independence in 1946, the national government continued the previous policy of not establishing relations with socialist countries. This changed in 1965 with the new President, Ferdinand Marcos, who sought links with socialist countries as new markets for exports.
Trade and political links were developed and strengthened during the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1976, following Ferdinand Marcos's first state visit to the USSR on 2 June 1976, a communiqué was issued, establishing diplomatic relations. Both countries began to exchange ambassadors from 1977 onwards. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Philippines recognised the Russian Federation as its successor state on 28 December 1991. The incumbent Soviet ambassador, , continued to serve as representative of Russia until 1996.
The ambassador to the Philippines had concurrent accreditation to Micronesia between 2014 and 2020. Micronesia severed diplomatic relations with Russia in 2022 in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
List of representatives (1977–present) Soviet Union to the Philippines (1977–1991) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAmbassador22 October 197721 July 1981Presentation of credentials on 5 January 1978Ambassador21 July 198123 December 1985Presentation of credentials on 29 September 1981Ambassador23 December 198512 November 1987Ambassador12 November 198730 October 1990Ambassador6 December 199025 December 1991
Russian Federation to the Philippines (1991–present) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAmbassador25 December 1991 13 February 1996Ambassador13 February 199616 July 2002Ambassador16 July 20028 January 2007Ambassador8 January 200727 August 2010Ambassador27 August 20102 March 2015Presentation of credentials on October 20 2010Ambassador2 March 201519 September 2020Presentation of credentials on 8 June 2015Marat PavlovAmbassador21 September 2020 Presentation of credentials on 2 December 2020
References