# List of ambassadors of Russia to Albania

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Albania is the official representative of the President and the Government of the Russian Federation to the President and the Government of Albania.
The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Embassy of Russia in Tirana. The post of Russian Ambassador to Albania is currently held by Aleksey Zaitsev [ru], incumbent since 14 June 2024.

## History of diplomatic relations

Attempts to establish diplomatic relations at the mission level between the Soviet Union and Albania began after the June Revolution in 1924 under the auspices of the Soviet ambassador to Greece Arkady Krakovetsky [ru]. Krakovetsky arrived in Tirana on 16 December 1924, but events overtook him when the Albanian government fell to armed forces that placed Ahmed Bey Zogu in power as president of the Albanian Republic. Relations were finally established in September 1934, with the ambassador to Greece serving as non-resident representative to Albania, but were broken off in April 1939 after the Italian invasion and occupation of Albania.
Diplomatic relations were resumed after the war, with the Soviet government recognising the Democratic Government of Albania on 10 November 1945, which after 1946 became the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. The first Soviet envoy, Dmitry Chuvakhin [ru], presented his credentials on 11 January 1946. After a period of relatively strong relations, disagreements between the Albanian and Soviet governments caused relations to deteriorate sharply in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Soviets withdrew their embassy in November 1961, and officially suspended diplomatic relations the following month. Relations were only restored after a joint meeting in June-July 1990 between the Soviet and Albanian foreign ministries. The Soviet embassy in Tirana was reopened in February 1991, while the Albanian embassy in Moscow opened in April 1991. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet ambassador, Viktor Nerubaylo [ru], continued as representative of the Russian Federation until 1996.

## List of representatives (1924 – present)
### Representatives of the Soviet Union to Albania (1924 – 1991)

| Name | Title | Appointment | Termination | Notes |
| Arkady Krakovetsky [ru] | Diplomatic representative | January | 18 December 1924 | |
| Mikhail Kobetsky | Diplomatic representative (non-resident) | 23 January 1935 | 28 April 1937 | |
| Nikolai Sharonov | Diplomatic representative (non-resident) | 13 November 1937 | 7 April 1939 | |
| Dmitry Chuvakhin [ru] | Envoy | 12 December 1945 | 16 March 1952 | |
| Kliment Lyovychkin [ru] | Envoy (before August 1953) Ambassador (after August 1953) | 12 December 1945 | 7 December 1955 | |
| Leonid Krylov [ru] | Ambassador | 7 December 1955 | 7 March 1957 | |
| Vasily Ivanov [ru] | Ambassador | 7 March 1957 | 24 November 1960 | |
| Iosif Shikin | Ambassador | 24 November 1960 | 21 January 1963 | Withdrawn in November 1961 |
| Viktor Nerubaylo [ru] | Ambassador | 15 February 1991 | 25 December 1991 | |

### Representatives of the Russian Federation to Albania (1991 – present)

| Name | Title | Appointment | Termination |
| Viktor Nerubaylo [ru] | Ambassador | 25 December 1991 | 2 November 1996 |
| Igor Saprykin [ru] | Ambassador | 2 November 1996 | 26 July 2000 |
| Vladimir Tokin [ru] | Ambassador | 26 July 2000 | 26 August 2005 |
| Alexander Prishchepov | Ambassador | 26 August 2005 | 28 January 2010 |
| Leonid Abramov [ru] | Ambassador | 28 January 2010 | 10 July 2014 |
| Aleksandr Karpushin [ru] | Ambassador | 10 July 2014 | 16 September 2019 |
| Mikhail Afanasyev [ru] | Ambassador | 16 September 2019 | 20 May 2024 |
| Aleksey Zaitsev [ru] | Ambassador | 14 June 2024 | |