# List of ambassadors of Russia to Ethiopia

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is the official representative of the Government of Russia to the Government of Ethiopia.
The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Embassy of Russia in Addis Ababa. The ambassador to Ethiopia is concurrently appointed as the Russian representative to the African Union. The post of Russian Ambassador to Ethiopia is currently held by Yevgeny Terekhin [ru], incumbent since 27 March 2019.

## Background

Russia established diplomatic relations with Ethiopia on 9 August 1897 and sent its first head of mission, P. M. Vlasov. The successful development of Russo-Ethiopian relations, at least at the first stage (until 1907), was mainly due to the fact that Russia did not participate in the colonial division of Africa and therefore did not pose any threat to Ethiopia. Russia was the great global power and thus a country like Ethiopia needed an ally to continue its existence. As a rival of British Empire and Italy in global and regional politics, Russia objectively became in Ethiopia a political counterbalance to the imperialist plans of these powers. The Russian mission was tasked with "gaining the trust of the Negus and, if possible, protecting him from the intrigues of our political rivals, especially the British, who pursue such ambitious, predatory goals in Africa."
With the end of the tsarist regime in 1917 the diplomatic relations were interrupted, but were resumed by the Soviet Union on 21 April 1943. The first Soviet ambassador, Viktor Kozlov [ru], arrived in the country on 9 March 1944.

## List of representatives (1944 – present)
### Representatives of the Soviet Union to Ethiopia (1944 – 1991)

| Name | Title | Appointment | Termination | Notes |
| Viktor Kozlov [ru] | Envoy | 9 March 1944 | 28 February 1946 | Presented credentials on 1 July 1944 |
| Andrey Timoshchenko [ru] | Envoy | 28 February 1946 | 24 September 1948 | Presented credentials on 23 May 1946 |
| Vasily Rybakov [ru] | Envoy | 24 September 1948 | 13 December 1953 | Presented credentials on 28 December 1948 |
| Aleksey Korobochkin [ru] | Envoy | 13 December 1953 | 22 November 1955 | Presented credentials on 13 February 1954 |
| Borish Karavayev [ru] | Envoy (before 22 June 1956) Ambassador (after 22 June 1956) | 22 November 1955 | 13 October 1959 | Presented credentials on 14 February 1956 |
| Arkady Budakov [ru] | Ambassador | 13 October 1959 | 26 July 1965 | Presented credentials on 23 October 1959 |
| Leonid Teplov [ru] | Ambassador | 26 July 1965 | 2 January 1969 | Presented credentials on 8 October 1965 |
| Aleksey Shchiborin [ru] | Ambassador | 2 January 1969 | 14 December 1973 | Presented credentials on 27 March 1969 |
| Anatoly Ratanov [ru] | Ambassador | 14 December 1973 | 28 November 1978 | Presented credentials on 14 January 1974 |
| Boris Kirnasovsky [ru] | Ambassador | 28 November 1978 | 26 June 1981 | Presented credentials on 28 December 1978 |
| Konstantin Fomichenko [ru] | Ambassador | 25 June 1981 | 29 March 1985 | Presented credentials on 10 July 1981 |
| Gennady Andreyev [ru] | Ambassador | 29 March 1985 | 25 February 1986 | |
| Valentin Dimitiev [ru] | Ambassador | 22 July 1986 | 15 August 1990 | |
| Lev Mironov [ru] | Ambassador | 15 August 1990 | 25 December 1991 | |

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

| Name | Title | Appointment | Termination |
| Lev Mironov [ru] | Ambassador | 25 December 1991 | 22 May 1995 |
| Vladimir Volkov [ru] | Ambassador | 22 May 1995 | 9 July 1999 |
| Valery Lipnyakov [ru] | Ambassador | 9 July 1999 | 28 February 2005 |
| Mikhail Afanasyev [ru] | Ambassador | 28 February 2005 | 29 October 2010 |
| Valery Utkin [ru] | Ambassador | 29 October 2010 | 23 June 2014 |
| Vsevolod Tkachenko [ru] | Ambassador | 23 June 2014 | 27 March 2019 |
| Yevgeny Terekhin [ru] | Ambassador | 27 March 2019 | |