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Ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation
Посол Соединëнных Штатов в России
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Lynne Tracy
since January 30, 2023
ResidenceSpaso House
NominatorPresident of the United States
AppointerPresident of the United States
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderFrancis Dana
as Ambassador
FormationDecember 19, 1789; 234 years ago (1789-12-19)
WebsiteU.S. Embassy in Moscow

The ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Russian Federation. Since January 30, 2023, Lynne M. Tracy is serving as the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.

History

The Ambassador resides in Spaso House, the former mansion of Nikolay Vtorov.

The United States first established diplomatic relations with the Russian Empire in 1780. Diplomatic relations were broken off in 1917 when the Bolsheviks seized power, and they were not reestablished until 1933. From 1933 to 1991, the United States recognized the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the ambassador's title was changed to Ambassador to the Russian Federation, as Russia is the USSR's direct successor.

List of ambassadors

Russian Empire (1780–1917)

Name Appointment Presentation Termination Notes
Francis Dana December 19, 1780 September 1783 Proceeded to post, but was not officially nominated at court.
John Quincy Adams June 27, 1809 November 5, 1809 April 28, 1814 Nomination of March 6, 1809 rejected by the Senate; nomination of June 26, 1809 confirmed.
William Pinkney March 7, 1816 January 13, 1817 February 14, 1818
George Washington Campbell April 16, 1818 February 7, 1819 July 8, 1820
Henry Middleton April 6, 1820 June 17, 1821 August 3, 1830
John Randolph May 26, 1830 September 19, 1830 Proceeded to post, but did not present credentials.
James Buchanan January 4, 1832 June 11, 1832 August 5, 1833
William Wilkins June 30, 1834 December 14, 1834 December 24, 1835
John Randolph Clay June 29, 1836 September 2, 1836 August 5, 1837
George M. Dallas March 7, 1837 August 6, 1837 July 29, 1839
Churchill C. Cambreleng May 25, 1840 September 21, 1840 July 13, 1841 Commissioned not of record; letter of credence issued on May 25, 1840.
Charles Stewart Todd August 27, 1841 November 28, 1841 January 27, 1846
Ralph I. Ingersoll August 8, 1846 May 30, 1847 July 1, 1848
Arthur P. Bagby June 15, 1848 January 14, 1849 May 14, 1849
Neill S. Brown May 2, 1850 August 13, 1850 June 23, 1853
Thomas H. Seymour May 24, 1853 April 2, 1854 July 17, 1858 Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on December 6, 1853.
Francis W. Pickens January 11, 1858 July 18, 1858 September 9, 1860
John Appleton June 8, 1860 September 9, 1860 June 8, 1861
Cassius Marcellus Clay March 28, 1861 July 14, 1861 June 25, 1862
Simon Cameron January 17, 1862 June 25, 1862 September 18, 1862
Cassius Marcellus Clay March 11, 1863 May 7, 1863 October 1, 1869
Andrew G. Curtin April 16, 1869 October 28, 1869 July 1, 1872
James Lawrence Orr December 12, 1872 March 18, 1873 May 6, 1873
Marshall Jewell May 29, 1873 December 9, 1873 July 19, 1874 Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on December 10, 1873.
George H. Boker January 13, 1875 July 24, 1875 January 14, 1878
Edwin W. Stoughton October 30, 1877 January 14, 1878 March 2, 1879
John W. Foster January 26, 1880 June 11, 1880 August 1, 1881
William H. Hunt April 12, 1882 August 23, 1882 February 27, 1884 Died at post.
Alphonso Taft July 4, 1884 September 3, 1884 July 31, 1885
George V. N. Lothrop May 7, 1885 July 31, 1885 August 1, 1888 Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on January 13, 1886.
Lambert Tree September 25, 1888 January 4, 1889 February 2, 1889
C. Allen Thorndike Rice March 30, 1889 Took oath of office, but died in the United States before proceeding to post.
Charles Emory Smith February 14, 1890 May 14, 1890 April 17, 1892
Andrew D. White July 22, 1892 November 7, 1892 October 1, 1894
Clifton R. Breckinridge July 20, 1894 November 1, 1894 December 10, 1897 Officially recognized on November 1, 1894.
Ethan A. Hitchcock August 16, 1897 December 16, 1897 Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on December 18, 1897.
Ethan A. Hitchcock February 11, 1898 March 21, 1898 January 28, 1899 Position upgraded to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Charlemagne Tower, Jr. January 12, 1899 March 19, 1899 November 19, 1902
Robert S. McCormick September 26, 1902 January 12, 1903 March 27, 1905 Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on December 8, 1902.
George von Lengerke Meyer March 8, 1905 April 12, 1905 January 26, 1907
John W. Riddle December 19, 1906 February 8, 1907 September 8, 1909
William Woodville Rockhill May 17, 1909 January 11, 1910 June 17, 1911
Curtis Guild April 24, 1911 August 17, 1911 April 24, 1913
George T. Marye July 9, 1914 October 30, 1914 March 29, 1916 Resigned due to poor health.[1]
David R. Francis March 6, 1916 May 5, 1916 November 7, 1917 Normal relations interrupted, November 7, 1917 after the October Revolution; the new Soviet regime unrecognized by the United States when Francis left Russia on November 7, 1918. He was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when Embassy in Russia was closed September 14, 1919.

Soviet Union (1933–1991)

Name Appointment Presentation Termination Notes
William Christian Bullitt, Jr. November 21, 1933 December 13, 1933 May 16, 1936 Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on January 15, 1934.
Joseph E. Davies November 16, 1936 January 25, 1937 June 11, 1938 Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on January 23, 1937.
Laurence A. Steinhardt March 23, 1939 August 11, 1939 November 12, 1941
William H. Standley February 14, 1942 April 14, 1942 September 19, 1943
W. Averell Harriman October 7, 1943 October 23, 1943 January 24, 1946
Walter Bedell Smith March 22, 1946 April 3, 1946 December 25, 1948
Alan G. Kirk May 21, 1949 July 4, 1949 October 6, 1951
George F. Kennan March 14, 1952 May 14, 1952 September 19, 1952 The Government of the Soviet Union declared Kennan persona non grata on October 3, 1952, and he did not return to his post.
Charles E. Bohlen March 27, 1953 April 20, 1953 April 18, 1957
Llewellyn Thompson June 3, 1957 July 16, 1957 July 27, 1962
Foy D. Kohler August 20, 1962 September 27, 1962 November 14, 1966
Llewellyn Thompson October 13, 1966 January 23, 1967 January 14, 1969
Jacob D. Beam March 14, 1969 April 18, 1969 January 24, 1973 Adolph Dubs served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim between January 1973 and March 1974.
Walter J. Stoessel, Jr. December 19, 1973 March 4, 1974 September 13, 1976
Malcolm Toon November 24, 1976 January 18, 1977 October 16, 1979 Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on June 8, 1977.
Thomas J. Watson, Jr. October 10, 1979 October 29, 1979 January 15, 1981
Arthur A. Hartman September 28, 1981 October 26, 1981 February 20, 1987
Jack F. Matlock, Jr. March 12, 1987 April 6, 1987 August 11, 1991
Robert S. Strauss August 2, 1991 August 24, 1991 November 19, 1992 Commissioned to the Soviet Union – continued to serve as Ambassador to the Russian Federation after the collapse of the USSR.

Russian Federation (1992–present)

Image Name Appointment Presentation Termination Notes
Thomas R. Pickering May 12, 1993 May 21, 1993 November 1, 1996 Chargé d'Affaires ad interim: Richard M. Miles (November 1996–May 1997), and John F. Tefft (May 1997–January 1998).
James Franklin Collins August 1, 1996 January 26, 1998 July 10, 2001
Alexander Vershbow July 12, 2001 October 17, 2001 July 22, 2005
William J. Burns August 10, 2005 November 8, 2005 May 12, 2008
John Beyrle May 13, 2008 September 18, 2008 January 4, 2012
Michael McFaul January 10, 2012 February 22, 2012 February 26, 2014
John F. Tefft July 31, 2014 November 19, 2014 September 28, 2017 Anthony Godfrey, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
Jon Huntsman Jr. September 28, 2017 October 3, 2017 October 3, 2019
John J. Sullivan December 12, 2019 February 5, 2020 September 4, 2022 Elizabeth Rood, chargée d'affaires ad interim
Lynne Tracy December 21, 2022 January 30, 2023

Notes

  1. ^ "Ambassador Marye, Broken in Health Resigns". East Oregonian. Pendleton, Umatilla County, Oregon. February 23, 1916. Retrieved February 23, 2016.

See also

References

External links


United States Ambassadors to Russia
Ambassadors of the United States
Russia–United States relations
Soviet Union–United States relations
Categories