# List of ambassadors of the United States to Russia

The ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Russian Federation. Since January 30, 2023, Lynne M. Tracy is serving as the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.

## History

The United States first established diplomatic relations with the Russian Empire in 1780. Diplomatic relations were broken off in 1917 when the Bolsheviks seized power, and they were not reestablished until 1933. From 1933 to 1991, the United States recognized the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the ambassador's title was changed to Ambassador to the Russian Federation, as Russia is the USSR's direct successor.

## List of ambassadors
### Russian Empire (1780–1917)

| Name | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Notes |
| Francis Dana | December 19, 1780 | | September 1783 | Proceeded to post, but was not officially nominated at court. |
| John Quincy Adams | June 27, 1809 | November 5, 1809 | April 28, 1814 | Nomination of March 6, 1809 rejected by the Senate; nomination of June 26, 1809 confirmed. |
| William Pinkney | March 7, 1816 | January 13, 1817 | February 14, 1818 | |
| George Washington Campbell | April 16, 1818 | February 7, 1819 | July 8, 1820 | |
| Henry Middleton | April 6, 1820 | June 17, 1821 | August 3, 1830 | |
| John Randolph | May 26, 1830 | | September 19, 1830 | Proceeded to post, but did not present credentials. |
| James Buchanan | January 4, 1832 | June 11, 1832 | August 5, 1833 | |
| William Wilkins | June 30, 1834 | December 14, 1834 | December 24, 1835 | |
| John Randolph Clay | June 29, 1836 | September 2, 1836 | August 5, 1837 | |
| George M. Dallas | March 7, 1837 | August 6, 1837 | July 29, 1839 | |
| Churchill C. Cambreleng | May 25, 1840 | September 21, 1840 | July 13, 1841 | Commissioned not of record; letter of credence issued on May 25, 1840. |
| Charles Stewart Todd | August 27, 1841 | November 28, 1841 | January 27, 1846 | |
| Ralph I. Ingersoll | August 8, 1846 | May 30, 1847 | July 1, 1848 | |
| Arthur P. Bagby | June 15, 1848 | January 14, 1849 | May 14, 1849 | |
| Neill S. Brown | May 2, 1850 | August 13, 1850 | June 23, 1853 | |
| Thomas H. Seymour | 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 | January 11, 1858 | July 18, 1858 | September 9, 1860 | |
| John Appleton | June 8, 1860 | September 9, 1860 | June 8, 1861 | |
| Cassius Marcellus Clay | March 28, 1861 | July 14, 1861 | June 25, 1862 | |
| Simon Cameron | January 17, 1862 | June 25, 1862 | September 18, 1862 | |
| Cassius Marcellus Clay | March 11, 1863 | May 7, 1863 | October 1, 1869 | |
| Andrew G. Curtin | April 16, 1869 | October 28, 1869 | July 1, 1872 | |
| James Lawrence Orr | December 12, 1872 | March 18, 1873 | May 6, 1873 | |
| Marshall Jewell | 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 | January 13, 1875 | July 24, 1875 | January 14, 1878 | |
| Edwin W. Stoughton | October 30, 1877 | January 14, 1878 | March 2, 1879 | |
| John W. Foster | January 26, 1880 | June 11, 1880 | August 1, 1881 | |
| William H. Hunt | April 12, 1882 | August 23, 1882 | February 27, 1884 | Died at post. |
| Alphonso Taft | July 4, 1884 | September 3, 1884 | July 31, 1885 | |
| George V. N. Lothrop | 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 | September 25, 1888 | January 4, 1889 | February 2, 1889 | |
| C. Allen Thorndike Rice | March 30, 1889 | | | Took oath of office, but died in the United States before proceeding to post. |
| Charles Emory Smith | February 14, 1890 | May 14, 1890 | April 17, 1892 | |
| Andrew D. White | July 22, 1892 | November 7, 1892 | October 1, 1894 | |
| Clifton R. Breckinridge | July 20, 1894 | November 1, 1894 | December 10, 1897 | Officially recognized on November 1, 1894. |
| Ethan A. Hitchcock | August 16, 1897 | December 16, 1897 | | Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on December 18, 1897. |
| Ethan A. Hitchcock | February 11, 1898 | March 21, 1898 | January 28, 1899 | Position upgraded to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. |
| Charlemagne Tower, Jr. | January 12, 1899 | March 19, 1899 | November 19, 1902 | |
| Robert S. McCormick | September 26, 1902 | January 12, 1903 | March 27, 1905 | Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on December 8, 1902. |
| George von Lengerke Meyer | March 8, 1905 | April 12, 1905 | January 26, 1907 | |
| John W. Riddle | December 19, 1906 | February 8, 1907 | September 8, 1909 | |
| William Woodville Rockhill | May 17, 1909 | January 11, 1910 | June 17, 1911 | |
| Curtis Guild | April 24, 1911 | August 17, 1911 | April 24, 1913 | |
| George T. Marye | July 9, 1914 | October 30, 1914 | March 29, 1916 | Resigned due to poor health. |
| David R. Francis | March 6, 1916 | May 5, 1916 | November 7, 1917 | Normal relations interrupted, November 7, 1917 after the October Revolution; the new Soviet regime 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. |

### Soviet Union (1933–1991)

| Name | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Notes |
| William Christian Bullitt, Jr. | 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 | 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 | March 23, 1939 | August 11, 1939 | November 12, 1941 | |
| William H. Standley | February 14, 1942 | April 14, 1942 | September 19, 1943 | |
| W. Averell Harriman | 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 | 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 | March 27, 1953 | April 20, 1953 | April 18, 1957 | |
| Llewellyn Thompson | June 3, 1957 | July 16, 1957 | July 27, 1962 | |
| Foy D. Kohler | August 20, 1962 | September 27, 1962 | November 14, 1966 | |
| Llewellyn Thompson | 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 | 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. | October 10, 1979 | October 29, 1979 | January 15, 1981 | |
| Arthur A. Hartman | September 28, 1981 | October 26, 1981 | February 20, 1987 | |
| Jack F. Matlock, Jr. | March 12, 1987 | April 6, 1987 | August 11, 1991 | |
| Robert S. Strauss | August 2, 1991 | August 24, 1991 | November 19, 1992 | Commissioned to the Soviet Union – continued to serve as Ambassador to the Russian Federation after the collapse of the USSR. |

### Russian Federation (1992–present)

| Name | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Notes |
| Thomas R. Pickering | 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 Franklin Collins | August 1, 1996 | January 26, 1998 | July 10, 2001 | |
| Alexander Vershbow | July 12, 2001 | October 17, 2001 | July 22, 2005 | |
| William J. Burns | August 10, 2005 | November 8, 2005 | May 12, 2008 | |
| John Beyrle | May 13, 2008 | September 18, 2008 | January 4, 2012 | |
| Michael McFaul | January 10, 2012 | February 22, 2012 | February 26, 2014 | |
| John F. Tefft | July 31, 2014 | November 19, 2014 | September 28, 2017 | Anthony Godfrey, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim |
| Jon Huntsman Jr. | September 28, 2017 | October 3, 2017 | October 3, 2019 | |
| John J. Sullivan | December 12, 2019 | February 5, 2020 | September 4, 2022 | Elizabeth Rood,Chargé d'Affaires ad interim |
| Lynne Tracy | December 21, 2022 | January 30, 2023 | | |