The ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Mexico is the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the president and the government of Mexico.
The Russian ambassador and his staff work at large in the Embassy of Russia in Mexico City. The post of Russian ambassador to Mexico is currently held by , incumbent since 10 February 2023. Since 1995, the ambassador to Mexico has dual accreditation to Belize.
History of diplomatic relations
Relations between the Russian Empire and Mexico date back to the early nineteenth century, with visits from traders from Pacific Russia to settlements on the west coast of North America. Mexico was initially part of the Spanish Empire, when the province of Alta California, part of New Spain, was visited by Nikolai Rezanov aboard the Russian ship Juno in March 1806. Russian trade and settlement began in the area, with the Russian-American Company establishing and operating Fort Ross, in what is now the state of California, in 1812. Following the Mexican War of Independence, negotiations on relations took place in London in the 1820s, and in Brussels in the mid-1880s. The first Russian ambassador to Mexico, Roman Rosen, was appointed on 11 December 1890. A bilateral agreement on trade and navigation was signed in 1909, but the upheaval of the Mexican Revolution, beginning in 1910, the First World War from 1914, and the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, disrupted relations. Representation from Russia had been by chargé d'affaires from October 1914, with the exchange of ambassadors ending in 1917. Consular affairs remained active however, with Mexico operating consulates in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Helsinki and Riga, and Russia having consulates in Mexico City, Veracruz, Monterrey and Guadalajara.
Following the establishment of a left wing government after the end of the Mexican Revolution in 1920, and the formation of the Soviet Union in 1922, Mexico became the first country in the Americas to establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet government, in 1924. Bolshevik revolutionary and party leader Stanisław Pestkowski was appointed as the first ambassador in 1924. He was succeeded by Alexandra Kollontai in 1926. Mexican socialist thought began to substantially diverge from the ideology of the Soviet Union, and in 1930, diplomatic relations were broken off. In 1942, Mexico joined the Second World War on the side of the Allies, thus becoming an ally of the Soviet Union. The embassy was reopened that year, and a new ambassador was appointed. Ambassadors were thereafter exchanged between the two countries up until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Mexico recognised the Russian Federation as the successor to the Soviet Union, with Soviet ambassador continuing in post until 1994. Ambassadors have since then continued to be exchanged.
List of representatives (1890–present) Russian Empire to Mexico (1890–1917) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesRoman RosenEnvoy11 December 189025 April 1895Credentials presented on 10 June 1891Karl WeberEnvoy18 July 189515 December 1900Fyodor GanzenChargé d'affaires15 December 190014 January 1902 Chargé d'affaires until 1906Envoy after 190614 January 19021910 Aleksandr StalevskyEnvoy19101917Left Mexico in October 1914 Vladimir Vendgauzen von RosenbergChargé d'affairesOctober 19141917
Soviet Union to Mexico (1924–1991) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesStanisław PestkowskiDiplomatic representative29 August 1924 17 September 1926Credentials presented on 7 November 1924Alexandra KollontaiDiplomatic representative17 September 192625 October 1927Credentials presented on 24 December 1926Leon GaikisChargé d'affaires19271928Diplomatic representative25 October 192726 January 1930Credentials presented on 6 April 1928Diplomatic relations interrupted (1930 - 1942)Envoy12 November 1942 2 June 1943 Konstantin UmanskyEnvoy until 17 June 1943Ambassador after 17 June 19432 June 1943 25 January 1945 Credentials presented on 22 June 1943Ambassador10 October 194519 July 1953Credentials presented on 16 November 1945Ambassador19 July 195328 February 1957Credentials presented on 5 November 1953 Ambassador28 February 19574 June 1962Credentials presented on 16 May 1957 Ambassador4 June 196221 February 1968Credentials presented on 20 June 1962Ambassador21 February 196827 January 1970Credentials presented on 29 March 1968Ambassador27 January 197011 August 1972Credentials presented on 13 March 1970Ambassador11 August 197224 March 1976Credentials presented on 10 October 1972Ambassador24 March 197621 May 1980Credentials presented on 28 June 1976Ambassador21 May 19807 March 1990 Credentials presented on 26 June 1980 Ambassador7 March 1990 25 December 1991
Russian Federation to Mexico (1991–present) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotes Ambassador25 December 199124 May 1994 Ambassador24 May 1994 27 August 1999 Ambassador27 August 1999 31 March 2005 Ambassador10 October 2005 29 October 2012 Ambassador29 October 201220 June 2018Credentials presented on 14 February 2013Ambassador22 June 201810 February 2023Credentials presented on 30 October 2018Ambassador10 February 2023Credentials presented on 25 May 2023
References