| Ambassador of the United States to Russia Список послов США в России |
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Seal of the United States Department of State |
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| Nominator | Barack Obama |
| Inaugural holder | Francis Dana as Ambassador |
| Formation | December 19, 1780 |
| Website | U.S. Embassy - Moscow |
Since 1780, the United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Russia. When Russia became the Soviet Union, the former Ambassador to Russia took over as Ambassador to the Soviet Union. Despite the Cold War, the position of ambassador was constantly filled. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Ambassador's title was changed back to the Ambassador to Russia.
Contents |
| Name | State of Residency | Appointment | Presentation of Credentials | Termination of Mission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Dana | Massachusetts | December 19, 1780 | September 1783 | Proceeded to post, but was not officially received at court. | |
| William Short | Virginia | September 8, 1808 | Commissioned during a recess of the Senate. Did not proceed to post, his nomination having been rejected by the Senate while he was en route. | ||
| John Quincy Adams | Massachusetts | June 27, 1809 | November 5, 1809 | April 28, 1814 | Nomination of March 6, 1809 rejected by the Senate; nomination of June 26, 1809 confirmed. |
| James A. Bayard | Delaware | February 28, 1815 | Did not proceed to post. | ||
| William Pinkney | Maryland | March 7, 1816 | January 13, 1817 | February 14, 1818 | |
| George Washington Campbell | Tennessee | April 16, 1818 | February 7, 1819 | July 8, 1820 | |
| Henry Middleton | South Carolina | April 6, 1820 | June 17, 1821 | August 3, 1830 | |
| John Randolph | Virginia | May 26, 1830 | September 19, 1830 | Proceeded to post, but did not present credentials. | |
| James Buchanan | Pennsylvania | January 4, 1832 | June 11, 1832 | August 5, 1833 | |
| Mahlon Dickerson | New Jersey | May 28, 1834 | Declined appointment. | ||
| William Wilkins | Pennsylvania | June 30, 1834 | December 14, 1834 | December 24, 1835 | |
| John Randolph Clay | Pennsylvania | June 29, 1836 | September 2, 1836 | August 5, 1837 | |
| George M. Dallas | Pennsylvania | March 7, 1837 | August 6, 1837 | July 29, 1839 | |
| Churchill C. Cambreleng | New York | May 25, 1840 | September 21, 1840 | July 13, 1841 | Commissioned not of record; letter of credence issued on May 25, 1840. |
| Charles S. Todd | Kentucky | August 27, 1841 | November 28, 1841 | January 27, 1846 | |
| Ralph I. Ingersoll | Connecticut | August 8, 1846 | May 30, 1847 | July 1, 1848 | |
| Arthur P. Bagby | Alabama | June 15, 1848 | January 14, 1849 | May 14, 1849 | |
| Neill S. Brown | Tennessee | May 2, 1850 | August 13, 1850 | June 23, 1853 | |
| Thomas H. Seymour | Connecticut | 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 | South Carolina | January 11, 1858 | July 18, 1858 | September 9, 1860 | |
| John Appleton | Maine | June 8, 1860 | September 9, 1860 | June 8, 1861 | |
| Cassius M. Clay | Kentucky | March 28, 1861 | July 14, 1861 | June 25, 1862 | |
| Simon Cameron | Pennsylvania | January 17, 1862 | June 25, 1862 | September 18, 1862 | |
| Cassius M. Clay | Kentucky | March 11, 1863 | May 7, 1863 | October 1, 1869 | |
| John L. Dawson | Pennsylvania | Not commissioned; nomination rejected by the Senate. | |||
| Henry A. Smythe | New York | Not commissioned; nomination tabled by the Senate. | |||
| Andrew G. Curtin | Pennsylvania | April 16, 1869 | October 28, 1869 | July 1, 1872 | |
| James L. Orr | South Carolina | December 12, 1872 | March 18, 1873 | May 6, 1873 | |
| Marshall Jewell | Connecticut | 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 | Pennsylvania | January 13, 1875 | July 24, 1875 | January 14, 1878 | |
| Edwin W. Stoughton | New York | October 30, 1877 | January 14, 1878 | March 2, 1879 | |
| John W. Foster | Indiana | January 26, 1880 | June 11, 1880 | August 1, 1881 | |
| William H. Hunt | Louisiana | April 12, 1882 | August 23, 1882 | February 27, 1884 | Died at post. |
| Aaron Augustus Sargent | California | Not commissioned although nomination was confirmed by the Senate. | |||
| Alphonso Taft | Ohio | July 4, 1884 | September 3, 1884 | July 31, 1885 | |
| Alexander R. Lawton | Georgia | Not commissioned; nomination withdrawn before the Senate acted upon it. | |||
| George V. N. Lothrop | Michigan | 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 | Illinois | September 25, 1888 | January 4, 1889 | February 2, 1889 | |
| C. Allen Thorndike Rice | New York | March 30, 1889 | Took oath of office, but died in the United States before proceeding to post. | ||
| Charles Emory Smith | Pennsylvania | February 14, 1890 | May 14, 1890 | April 17, 1892 | |
| Andrew D. White | New York | July 22, 1892 | November 7, 1892 | October 1, 1894 | |
| Clifton R. Breckinridge | Arkansas | July 20, 1894 | November 1, 1894 | December 10, 1897 | Officially recognized on November 1, 1894. |
| Ethan A. Hitchcock | Missouri | August 16, 1897 | December 16, 1897 | Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on December 18, 1897. | |
| Ethan A. Hitchcock | Missouri | February 11, 1898 | March 21, 1898 | January 28, 1899 | Position upgraded to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. |
| Charlemagne Tower, Jr. | Pennsylvania | January 12, 1899 | March 19, 1899 | November 19, 1902 | |
| Robert S. McCormick | Illinois | September 26, 1902 | January 12, 1903 | March 27, 1905 | Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on December 8, 1902. |
| George v. L. Meyer | Massachusetts | March 8, 1905 | April 12, 1905 | January 26, 1907 | |
| John W. Riddle | Minnesota | December 19, 1906 | February 8, 1907 | September 8, 1909 | |
| William Woodville Rockhill | District of Columbia | May 17, 1909 | January 11, 1910 | June 17, 1911 | |
| Curtis Guild | Massachusetts | April 24, 1911 | August 17, 1911 | April 24, 1913 | |
| Henry M. Pindell | Illinois | January 27, 1914 | Declined appointment. | ||
| George T. Marye | California | July 9, 1914 | October 30, 1914 | March 29, 1916 | |
| David R. Francis | Missouri | March 6, 1916 | May 5, 1916 | November 7, 1917 | Normal relations interrupted, November 7, 1917; new Government of Russia still 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. |
| Name | State of Residency | Appointment | Presentation of Credentials | Termination of Mission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William C. Bullitt | Pennsylvania | 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 | District of Columbia | 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 | New York | March 23, 1939 | August 11, 1939 | November 12, 1941 | |
| William H. Standley | California | February 14, 1942 | April 14, 1942 | September 19, 1943 | |
| W. Averell Harriman | New York | 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 | Pennsylvania | 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 | District of Columbia | March 27, 1953 | April 20, 1953 | April 18, 1957 | |
| Llewellyn E. Thompson | Colorado | June 3, 1957 | July 16, 1957 | July 27, 1962 | |
| Foy D. Kohler | Ohio | August 20, 1962 | September 27, 1962 | November 14, 1966 | |
| Llewellyn E. Thompson | Colorado | 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 | New York | 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. | Connecticut | October 10, 1979 | October 29, 1979 | January 15, 1981 | |
| Arthur A. Hartman | Maryland | September 28, 1981 | October 26, 1981 | February 20, 1987 | |
| Jack F. Matlock, Jr. | Florida | March 12, 1987 | April 6, 1987 | August 11, 1991 | |
| Robert S. Strauss | Texas | August 2, 1991 | August 24, 1991 | November 19, 1992 | Commissioned to the USSR - continued to serve as Ambassador to Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. |
| Name | State of Residency | Appointment | Presentation of Credentials | Termination of Mission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas R. Pickering | New Jersey | 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 F. Collins | Illinois | August 1, 1996 | January 26, 1998 | ||
| Alexander Vershbow | Massachusetts | 2001 | 2005 | ||
| William Joseph Burns | District of Columbia | August 10, 2005 | 2005 | March 2008 | In January 2008, was named Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the State Department's #3 position. |
| John Beyrle | Michigan | July 2, 2008 | July 3, 2008 | Incumbent |
On May 28, 2011, President Obama announced that he intended to nominate Michael McFaul as the next ambassador to Russia to succeed outgoing Ambassador Beyrle. U.S. Presidents often announce an "intent to nominate" prior to the official nomination being sent to the Senate for confirmation.[1][2][3]