The ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Hungary is the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the president and the government of Hungary.
The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Embassy of Russia in Budapest. There is a consulate-general in Debrecen. The current Russian ambassador to Hungary is , appointed on 18 February 2021.
History of diplomatic relations
Diplomatic relations existed between the Russian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and previous incarnations, with ambassadors exchanged from the eighteenth century onwards. Both empires ceased to exist after the First World War. Russia underwent the February and then the October Revolution in 1917, bringing the Bolsheviks to power and leading to the creation of the Soviet Union. The dissolution of Austria-Hungary created two separate countries, with Hungary passing through the brief states of the First Hungarian Republic, the Hungarian Soviet Republic, the Hungarian Republic, and by 1920, the Kingdom of Hungary. Diplomatic relations were restored on 5 September 1924, with Yakov Davydov appointed as diplomatic representative, but the treaty to exchange representatives was ultimately not ratified by Hungary. It was not until 4 February 1934 that an agreement was reached to establish diplomatic missions, and Adolf Petrovsky, the incumbent Soviet ambassador to Austria, was given dual accreditation to Hungary. The first ambassador solely accredited to Hungary was Alexander Bekzadyan, appointed on 17 November 1934.
Representation continued until 1939, when the increasing influence and closeness of Hungary with Nazi Germany caused the closing of the missions on 2 February 1939. Representation was through third countries until the missions reopened on 25 October 1939. On 22 June 1941, Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union began. Hungary was part of the Axis powers, and broke off relations with the Soviet Union on 23 June. Relations remained suspended throughout the rest of the war. With the defeat of the Axis powers, and the Soviet occupation of Hungary, diplomatic relations were restored on 25 September 1945. Relations were initially through envoys, but were upgraded to the level of embassies on 2 March 1948. Representation continued during the Cold War, during which time the Hungarian People's Republic was formed, and became part of the Warsaw Pact. The communist government came to an end in 1989, with the disintegration of the Eastern bloc, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union occurred in 1991. Hungary recognised Russia as the Soviet Union's successor state, and the incumbent Soviet ambassador, Ivan Aboimov, continued as representative of Russia until 1996.
List of representatives (1924–present) Soviet Union to the Kingdom of Hungary (1924–1946) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesYakov DavydovDiplomatic representative19241924Treaty not ratified, no representation (1924 - 1934)Adolf PetrovskyDiplomatic representative2 April 193411 November 1934Credentials presented on 9 April 1934Concurrently ambassador to AustriaAlexander BekzadyanDiplomatic representative17 November 193420 November 1937Credentials presented on 23 December 1934Chargé d'affairesSeptember 1937March 1939Missions closed (2 February - 25 October 1939)Nikolai SharonovDiplomatic representative before 9 May 1941Envoy after 9 May 194126 October 193923 June 1941Credentials presented on 7 December 1939Second World War, no representation (1941-1945)Georgy PushkinEnvoy1 October 19451 February 1946Credentials presented on 2 November 1945
Soviet Union to the Second Hungarian Republic (1946–1949) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesGeorgy PushkinEnvoy before 28 March 1948Ambassador after 28 March 19481 February 194628 June 1949Ambassador 28 June 194920 August 1949 Credentials presented on 8 July 1949
Soviet Union to the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAmbassador 20 August 1949 20 November 1949Ambassador 20 November 194915 July 1954Credentials presented on 25 February 1950Yuri AndropovAmbassador 15 July 19547 March 1957 Credentials presented on 26 July 1954Ambassador 7 March 1957 31 May 1959 Credentials presented on 14 March 1957 Terentii ShtykovAmbassador 31 May 1959 6 July 1960 Credentials presented on 11 July 1959 Ambassador 6 July 196012 January 1963Credentials presented on 17 September 1960Ambassador 12 January 196319 January 1966Credentials presented on 8 February 1963 Ambassador 19 January 196618 March 1971Credentials presented on 18 March 1966Ambassador 18 March 197118 January 1982Credentials presented on 24 March 1971Ambassador 18 January 19829 July 1985 Credentials presented on 18 February 1982Ambassador 9 July 1985 23 October 1989
Soviet Union to Hungary (1989–1991) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAmbassador 23 October 1989 8 June 1990Ivan AboimovAmbassador 8 June 199025 December 1991
Russian Federation to Hungary (1991–present) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesIvan AboimovAmbassador 25 December 199115 November 1996Ambassador 15 November 199621 April 2000Ambassador 21 April 200017 January 2006Ambassador 17 January 200623 September 2009 Ambassador 23 September 2009 24 September 2014Ambassador 24 September 201418 February 2021Ambassador 18 February 2021
References