Diplomatic exchanges between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia began with the formal establishment of relations on 24 June 1940, towards the very end of the existence of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and shortly before its invasion and occupation by Axis forces the following year. The first Soviet representative, , was appointed on 26 June 1940, and presented his credentials on 12 July 1940. With the invasion and occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941, a Yugoslav government-in-exile was established, eventually settling in London. The , representative to many of the governments-in-exile that were based in London during the occupation of their countries, was accredited to the Yugoslav government-in-exile from 21 August 1941 onwards. During the war, power shifted to the hands of the Partisan movement, led by Josip Broz Tito, and with the expulsion of Axis forces towards the end of the war, Tito formed a government to which the Soviet Union duly accredited as its first ambassador. Sadchikov was succeeded by Anatoly Lavrentiev in 1946, but relations between Titov and Stalin soured during the second half of the 1940s, and diplomatic relations were broken off in 1949. They were only restored in 1953 following Stalin's death in March that year, and in June 1953 Vasily Valkov was appointed the new Soviet ambassador. Relations were maintained thereafter, including during the changing of the country's name to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963, with the last Soviet ambassador, Gennady Shikin, being appointed in September 1991. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Shikin remained as ambassador of the Russian Federation, and continued to serve during the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992.