List of ambassadors of Russia to Estonia

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Estonia
Emblem of the Russian Foreign Ministry
Incumbent vacant since 31 March 2023
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Embassy of Russia in Tallinn
Style	His Excellency The Honourable
Reports to	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Seat	Tallinn
Appointer	President of Russia
Term length	At the pleasure of the President
Website	Embassy of Russia in Tallinn

The Ambassador of Russia to Estonia is the official representative of the President and the Government of the Russian Federation to the President and the Government of Estonia.

Before the downgrading in diplomatic relations, the ambassador and his staff used to work at large in the Russian embassy in Tallinn. ^[1] There was a consular section in Tartu, and a consulate general in Narva.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in 2022, the Estonian government closed the consular section in Tartu and the consulate general in Narva and expelled its staff. ^[2] In 2023, following the expulsion of the Estonian ambassador to Russia, Russia recalled its ambassador to Estonia. The post has been vacant ever since. ^[3]

History of diplomatic relations

Main article: Estonia-Russia relations

Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic were established on 2 February 1920, when Bolshevist Russia recognized de jure the independence of the Republic of Estonia, and renounced in perpetuity all rights to the territory of Estonia, via the Treaty of Tartu. ^[4] Relations were maintained after the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1923, but deteriorated after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the USSR, and its provisions for the domination of the Baltic countries by the Soviet Union. Estonia in the Second World War was at first pressured to accept Soviet military domination, and then occupied by Soviet forces in 1940. A pro-Soviet government was installed, and on 6 August 1940 Estonia was annexed into the Soviet Union as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. ^[4]

During the late Soviet Glasnost policy of Mikhail Gorbachev, new elections were held, returning a parliament that introduced a resolution for independence on 8 May 1990. Anticipating Estonian independence, Boris Yeltsin, chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR met with his counterpart, Arnold Rüütel, chairman of the Estonian SSR, in January 1991 to plan for transition. During the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, the Estonian parliament issued a Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union on 20 August 1991, which was recognized by the State Council of the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of the year, the Russian Federation was created. The first ambassador of the Russian Federation to Estonia, Aleksandr Kuznetsov, was appointed on 24 January 1992. ^{[4] [5]}

Amid a breakdown of diplomatic relations, in 2023, following the expulsion of the Estonian ambassador to Russia, Russia recalled its ambassador to Estonia. The post has been vacant ever since. ^[3]

List of representatives (1920–present)

Representatives of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to Estonia (1920–1923)

Name	Title	Appointment	Termination	Notes
Isidore Gukovsky	Diplomatic representative	11 February 1920	1920
Nikolai Klyshko  [ ru ]	Diplomatic representative	1920	1921
Maxim Litvinov	Acting diplomatic representative	26 December 1920	12 September 1921
Leonid Stark	Diplomatic representative Acting, prior to 15 November 1922	12 September 1921	1923

Representatives of the Soviet Union to Estonia (1923–1940)

Name	Title	Appointment	Termination	Notes
Leonid Stark	Diplomatic representative	1923	12 May 1924
Yuri Maltsev	Chargé d'affaires	1924	1924
Mikhail Kobetsky	Diplomatic representative	21 June 1924	10 December 1924
Adolf Petrovsky	Diplomatic representative	10 December 1924	31 January 1930
Aleksandr Gambarov  [ ru ]	Chargé d'affaires	1924	1 January 1927
Fyodor Raskolnikov	Diplomatic representative	6 March 1930	18 August 1933
Aleksei Ustinov  [ ru ]	Diplomatic representative	27 January 1934	26 September 1937
Kuzma Nikitin  [ ru ]	Diplomatic representative	1 November 1937	10 July 1940
Vladimir Bochkaryov  [ ru ]	Diplomatic representative	29 July 1940	6 August 1940

Representatives of the Russian Federation to Estonia (1992–present)

Name	Title	Appointment	Termination	Notes
Aleksandr Kuznetsov	Ambassador	24 January 1992	1 September 1992
Aleksandr Trofimov	Ambassador	1 September 1992	23 July 1997
Aleksei Glukhov  [ ru ]	Ambassador	23 July 1997	15 September 2000
Konstantin Provalov	Ambassador	15 September 2000	25 July 2006
Nikolai Uspensky  [ ru ]	Ambassador	25 July 2006	14 July 2010
Yuri Merzlyakov	Ambassador	14 July 2010	18 August 2015
Aleksandr Petrov  [ ru ]	Ambassador	18 August 2015	14 December 2021
Vladimir Lipayev	Ambassador	14 December 2021	23 January 2023	Declared Persona non grata [3]

References

1. "Посольство Российской Федерации в Эстонской Республике" (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia) . Retrieved 9 April 2021.
2. "Estonia expels 14 consular staff of Russia and closes Russia's consulate general in Narva and Tartu office | Välisministeerium". vm.ee. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
3. "Estonia and Latvia remove Russian ambassadors as tensions rise". 23 January 2023.
4. "Полномочное представительство РСФСР - СССР в Эстонии" (in Russian). Справочник по истории Коммунистической партии и Советского Союза 1898 - 1991. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
5. "Чрезвычайный и полномочный посолы" (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia) . Retrieved 9 April 2021.