Yuri_Ushakov

Yuri Ushakov

Yuri Ushakov

Russian and former Soviet diplomat


Yuri Viktorovich Ushakov (Russian: Юрий Викторович Ушаков; born 13 March 1947) is a Russian and former Soviet diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Russia to the United States from 1998 until 2008. Since 2012, he has been an advisor to the President of Russia on foreign policy issues. He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.[1]

Quick Facts Assistant to the President of Russia for Foreign Policy, President ...

Early career

Ushakov is a graduate of Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) and entered the service of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1970. In the same year he was sent to the Soviet Embassy, Copenhagen. Returning to Moscow, he worked in the Department of the Scandinavian Countries, in the General Secretariat. He completed advanced training courses at the Diplomatic Academy, defended his Ph.D. thesis on the foreign policy of the countries of northern Europe.

From 1986 to 1992. he was Counsellor-Envoy of the Embassy of the USSR and Russia in Denmark. He was the Russian Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) from 1996 to 1998.

Envoy to Washington

He was appointed Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States in December 1998.

He commented on the Beslan school massacre in North Ossetia-Alania, Russia:[2]

It is already clear that terrorists will never stop killing us if they are not stopped and eliminated with all the power and might of our nation and that of the civilized world.

He served until president Dmitry Medvedev replaced him with Sergey Kislyak on 31 May 2008.[3]

In government

Ushakov with Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in St. Petersburg, 18 June 2015
Ushakov with Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, 27 July 2018
The "Normandy Format" talks in October 2019 where Ushakov sits aside Sergei Lavrov.

From June 2008 to May 2012 Ushakov was Deputy Chief of the Government Staff of the Russian Federation. Since May 2012 he has been Aide to the President of the Russian Federation responsible for international affairs in the Presidential Administration.[4]

In June 2019, Ushakov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping would sign a new declaration on their "global partnership and strategic cooperation, which are entering a new era", saying that "the positions of Russia and China are very close or coincide completely on most international issues."[5]

In February 2022, he dismissed US warnings that Russia was planning to invade Ukraine, saying: "We don't understand why they are spreading clearly false information about Russian intentions."[6]

In July 2023, Ushakov told Russian media that 49 out of 54 African states had confirmed the participation of their delegations at the 2023 Russia–Africa Summit in St. Petersburg.[7]

In January 2024, the United States rejected Putin's proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan informed Ushakov that the United States would not negotiate a ceasefire without Ukraine's participation.[8][9]

Personal life

Ushakov's family consists of him, his wife, and a daughter. According to his income declaration, Ushakov earned 8,736,043 rubles in 2018, while his spouse earned 214,527 rubles during the same period.[10] In 2022, an investigation by the "Metla" publication revealed that the Ushakov family owned real estate valued at over 700 million rubles.[11] Additionally, Yuri Ushakov is fluent in English and Danish.

Honors

Russian Honors

Foreign honours

Diplomatic Rank

  • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador, 1st Class (March 18, 1992)[25]
  • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador (November 10, 1995)[26]

References

  1. "О присвоении классных чинов государственной гражданской службы Российской Федерации федеральным государственным гражданским служащим Аппарата Правительства Российской Федерации". Decree No. 40 of 11 January 2009 (in Russian). President of Russia.
  2. "The Tragedy of Beslan in North Ossetia-Alania, Russia". The Washington Times, USA. 12 September 2004. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  3. "Kremlin Biography of Yuri Vitorovich Ukhakov". Kremlin.ru. Kremlin, Moscow, Russia. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  4. "Russian, Chinese Leaders Hail 'New Era' At Kremlin Meeting". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 5 June 2019.
  5. "Сведения о доходах основных должностных лиц Администрации Президента" (in Russian). Президент России. Archived from the original on 2012-12-17. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  6. Метла. "Помощник на три четверти миллиарда". Метла. Archived from the original on 2022-07-28. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  7. "Текст решения" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-14.

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