List of ambassadors of Russia to Latvia

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

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Latvia is the official representative of the President and the Government of the Russian Federation to the President and the Government of Latvia.

Before the downgrade of diplomatic relations between Russia and Latvia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ambassador and his staff used to work at large in the Embassy of Russia in Riga. ^[1] There were consulates general in Daugavpils and Liepāja. ^{[2] [3]}

In 2022, the Latvian government closed the two Russian consulates ^[4] and in 2023 the Russian ambassador to Latvia was expelled. ^[5]

History of diplomatic relations

Main article: Latvia–Russia relations

The territory occupied by Latvia had been part of the Russian Empire since the eighteenth century. In the aftermath of the First World War and the collapse of the empire following the Russian Revolution in 1917, Latvia declared independence on 18 November 1918. Diplomatic relations were established between Latvia and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to Latvia on 11 August 1920, and Yakov Ganetsky was appointed the first Plenipotentiary representative on 31 August that year. ^[6] Representation continued until the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, after which Latvia was de facto part of the USSR for the remainder of the existence of the Soviet Union, with the exception of a period of occupation by Nazi Germany between 1941 and 1944 during the Second World War. Soviet forces re-occupied Latvia in 1944, after which Latvia became a constituent part of the Soviet Union as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. ^[6]

As part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Latvia's secession was recognized by the State Council of the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. Diplomatic relations with Russia were established on 4 October 1991. ^[7]

Following growing diplomatic tensions in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Latvian government expelled the Russian ambassador to Latvia and downgraded diplomatic relations between the countries. ^[5]

List of representatives (1920 – present)

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

Name	Title	Appointment	Termination	Notes
Yakov Ganetsky	Plenipotentiary representative	31 August 1920	7 December 1921
Konstantin Yurenev	Plenipotentiary representative	1 February 1922	14 February 1923
Adam Semashko  [ ru ]	Chargé d'affaires	1923	1923
Semyon Aralov	Plenipotentiary representative	28 May 1923	23 July 1923

Representatives of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to Latvia (1923 – 1940)

Name	Title	Appointment	Termination	Notes
Semyon Aralov	Plenipotentiary representative	23 July 1923	21 March 1925
Kazimir Krzheminsky	Chargé d'affaires	1924	1924
Aleksandr Gambarov  [ ru ]	Chargé d'affaires	1925	1925
Aleksey Chernykh  [ ru ]	Plenipotentiary representative	9 July 1925	24 February 1927
Sigizmund Borkusevich	Chargé d'affaires	1926	1926
Ivan Lorents	Plenipotentiary representative	24 February 1927	14 September 1929
Aleksey Svidersky  [ ru ]	Plenipotentiary representative	14 September 1929	10 May 1933
Stefan Bratman-Brodovsky  [ ru ]	Plenipotentiary representative	10 October 1933	25 October 1937
Ivan Zotov  [ ru ]	Plenipotentiary representative	1 November 1937	6 April 1940
Vladimir Derevyansky  [ ru ]	Plenipotentiary representative	7 April 1940	10 October 1940

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

Name	Title	Appointment	Termination	Notes
Aleksandr Rannikh  [ ru ]	Ambassador	2 March 1992	25 November 1996
Aleksandr Udaltsov  [ ru ]	Ambassador	25 November 1996	13 February 2001
Igor Studennikov  [ ru ]	Ambassador	13 February 2001	1 September 2004
Viktor Kalyuzhny  [ ru ]	Ambassador	13 February 2001	11 January 2008
Alexander Veshnyakov [8] [9]	Ambassador	11 January 2008	15 December 2016
Yevgeny Lukyanov [10]	Ambassador	15 December 2016	25 March 2021
Vadim Vasileyev	Charge d'affaires	25 March 2021	28 September 2021
Mikhail Vanin	Ambassador	28 September 2021	31 March 2023	declared persona non grata [5]

References

1. "Посольство Российской Федерации в Латвийской Республике" (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia) . Retrieved 25 October 2019.
2. "Генеральное консульство Российской Федерации в Даугавпилсе" (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia) . Retrieved 25 October 2019.
3. "Генеральное консульство Российской Федерации в Лиепае (Латвия)" (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia) . Retrieved 25 October 2019.
4. "Latvia and Estonia close Russian consulates, expel staff". Reuters. 5 April 2022.
5. "Estonia and Latvia remove Russian ambassadors as tensions rise". POLITICO. 2023-01-23. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
6. Полномочное представительство РСФСР - СССР в Латвии (in Russian). Справочник по истории Коммунистической партии и Советского Союза 1898 - 1991. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
7. "Российско-латвийские двусторонние отношения" (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia) . Retrieved 25 October 2019.
8. "Latvia accepts former election chief as Russia's ambassador". Radio Free Europe Newsline. 11 January 2008. Archived from the original on 14 January 2008.
9. Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 15.12.2016 № 673 "О Вешнякове А.А."
10. Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 15.12.2016 № 674 "О Чрезвычайном и Полномочном После Российской Федерации в Латвийской Республике"