The ambassador of Russia to Portugal is the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the president and the government of Portugal.
The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Russian embassy in Lisbon. The current Russian ambassador to Portugal is , incumbent since 18 June 2018.
History of diplomatic relations
Formal diplomatic relations between Spain and Russia date back to the late eighteenth century, though there had been contacts between Portugal and the Russian Empire since the first half of the century. Trade was of particular interest, and records indicate that the Portuguese government approached Peter the Great in 1724, with offers to establish more formalised trade relations. Peter responded with a decree to appoint a consul to Lisbon to oversee trade links, but little information survives of this mission. Trade however continued to develop, and by 1769, the first official consulate general was opened in Lisbon, with Hamburg banker João Antonio Borcher appointed as consul on 2 October 1769. With contacts developing, in 1778 an agreement was reached to establish formal diplomatic relations between the courts of Maria I of Portugal and Empress Catherine the Great. The Portuguese ambassador, Francisco José Horta Machado, arrived in Saint Petersburg on 20 October 1779, and the first Russian ambassador, Count Maximilian Nesselrode arrived in Lisbon on 4 July 1780. The exchange of envoys continued throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and into the twentieth century. This included the period of the occupation of Portugal by troops of the First French Empire in 1807, and the transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil that year. The Portuguese court, and the Russian diplomatic mission, was thereafter based in Rio de Janeiro until its return to Lisbon in 1821.
There was a brief period following the 5 October 1910 revolution which overthrew the Portuguese monarchy and established the First Portuguese Republic, when Russia did not recognise the new government, but relations were restored with Tsar Nicholas II's official decree on 27 September 1911. Relations were maintained following the February Revolution brought the end of the Russian Empire and the establishment of the Russian Provisional Government, but were broken off after the October Revolution and the Bolshevik seizure of power. Diplomatic relations remained broken until 9 June 1974, when the Soviet Union established relations with Portugal. The exchange of ambassadors resumed with the appointment of on 26 July 1974. Exchange of ambassadors continued throughout the rest of the existence of the Soviet Union. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Portugal recognised the Russian Federation as its successor state. Gennadi Gerasimov represented Russia until 1993, and since then ambassadors have continued to be exchanged between the two countries.
List of representatives of Russia to Portugal (1778–present) Russian Empire to Portugal (1778–1917) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesMaximilian NesselrodeEnvoy17781789Andrey ForsmanChargé d'affaires17891796Aleksandr BibikovEnvoyDecember 1798January 1799Envoy17991799 Ivan VasilyevEnvoy9 May 180010 September 1806Andrey DubachevskyChargé d'affairesApril 1807June 1811Friedrich von der PahlenEnvoy11 July 181127 April 1815Aleksey SverchkovChargé d'affaires18151816 Pyotr Balk-PolevEnvoy27 April 181513 November 1817Diederik Tuyll van SerooskerkenEnvoy13 November 181728 June 1819Chargé d'affaires22 November 18193 October 1828Envoy1 January 182920 January 1833Aleksey StroganovChargé d'affaires before 13 March 1845Envoy after 13 March 184520 June 184211 March 1848Sergey LomonosovEnvoy11 March 18486 December 1853Envoy13 February 18541 August 1863Khristian KudryavskyEnvoy3 March 18643 April 1871Dmitry GlinkaEnvoy3 April 187114 May 1883Pavel ArapovEnvoy2 June 188329 March 1885 Nikolai FontonEnvoy21 May 18859 April 1891Envoy9 April 189128 July 1892Envoy28 July 18929 February 1896Envoy10 February 18961 November 1899Envoy16 November 18991902Envoy19028 November 1910Yakov von TalChargé d'affaires19111912Envoy1912 3 March 1917
Russian Provisional Government to Portugal (1917) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesChargé d'affaires19171917Envoy191726 October 1917
Soviet Union to Portugal (1974–1991) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAmbassador26 July 197417 December 1982Credentials presented on 9 August 1974 Ambassador17 December 198222 October 1987Credentials presented on 10 February 1983Ambassador22 October 19871990Gennadi GerasimovAmbassador199025 December 1991
Russian Federation to Portugal (1991–present) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesGennadi GerasimovAmbassador25 December 199116 March 1993Ambassador16 March 199328 August 1998Ambassador27 August 19981 February 2002Ambassador19 June 200211 April 2006Ambassador11 April 200625 January 2013Ambassador25 January 20138 May 2018 Credentials presented on 9 April 2013 Ambassador18 June 2018 Credentials presented on 1 October 2018
References