List of ambassadors of Russia to Georgia

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Georgia
Emblem of the Russian Foreign Ministry
Incumbent
Vacant
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Embassy of Russia, Tbilisi
StyleHis Excellency
The Honourable
Reports toMinister of Foreign Affairs
SeatTbilisi
AppointerPresident of Russia
Term lengthAt the pleasure of the president

The ambassador of Russia to Georgia was the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the president and the government of Georgia.

The ambassador and his staff worked at large in the Russian embassy in Tbilisi. Diplomatic relations were broken off following the Russo-Georgian War in August 2008, and there are currently no official diplomatic relations between the two countries.

History of diplomatic relations

With the process of the disintegration of the Russian Empire following the October Revolution and the outbreak of the Russian Civil War, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic established relations with the independent Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1920. Georgia's independence was short-lived, it was invaded by Red Army forces in 1921, who established the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, which with the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and other republics, formed the Soviet Union on its formation in 1922. Envoys in this period were Sergei Kirov, Aron Sheinman, and Boris Legran.[1]

With the process of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic held an independence referendum on 31 March 1991, subsequently declaring independence four days later. Georgian indepencence was recognized, and following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the RSFSR becoming the Russian Federation, diplomatic relations were formally established on 1 July 1992. Vladimir Zemsky was appointed the first ambassador on 24 October 1992.[1] The last Russian ambassador to Georgia was Vyacheslav Kovalenko, who was appointed on 7 July 2006. In August 2008, the Russo-Georgian War broke out. On 29 August 2008, Georgia ordered Kovalenko and all other Russian diplomats to leave the country, closed the embassy and severed diplomatic relations with Russia.[2] The Russian Federation has since been represented through the Russian Federation Interests Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia.[3]

Representatives of Russia to Georgia (1920–2008)

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to Georgia (1920–1922)

Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Sergei Kirov Diplomatic representative 29 May 1920 September 1920
Aron Sheinman Diplomatic representative September 1920 25 February 1921
Boris Legran Diplomatic representative March 1921 1922

Russian Federation to Georgia (1992–2008)

Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Vladimir Zemsky Ambassador 24 October 1992 21 September 1996
Feliks Stanevsky Ambassador 21 September 1996 24 August 2000
Vladimir Gudev Ambassador 24 August 2000 31 October 2002 Credentials presented on 21 October 2000
Vladimir Chkhikvishvili Ambassador 31 October 2002 7 July 2006 Credentials presented on 27 February 2003
Vyacheslav Kovalenko Ambassador 7 July 2006 8 July 2009 Credentials presented on 31 January 2007
Russo-Georgian War - Diplomatic relations interrupted (2008-present)

Heads of the Russian Interests Section (2008–present)

Name Appointment Termination Notes
Andrey Smaga 5 March 2009 2015
Vadim Gorelov 2015 2016
Yevgeny Koneshev 25 May 2017 December 2020
Dmitry Trofimov 10 January 2021 April 2025
Dmitry Olisov 2 June 2025

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Послы России/СССР/РФ в странах Азии" (in Russian). centrasia.org. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  2. ^ Georgia breaks relations with Russia Archived 2008-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Moscow picks Switzerland as Georgia agent". UPI. 6 October 2008.