List of ambassadors of Russia to Iraq

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Iraq is the official representative of the President and the Government of the Russian Federation to the Prime Minister and the Government of Iraq.

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Iraq
سفير الاتحاد الروسي لدى جمهورية العراق
Emblem of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Elbrus Kutrashev [ru]
since 8 April 2021
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Embassy of Russia in Baghdad
StyleHis Excellency
The Honorable
Reports toMinister of Foreign Affairs
ResidenceThe Embassy
SeatBaghdad, Iraq
AppointerThe President
Term lengthAt the pleasure of the President
Formation29 November 1944
First holderGrigory Zaitsev [ru]
WebsiteEmbassy of Russia- Baghdad

The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Embassy of Russia in Baghdad.[1] There is a Russian consulate-general in Erbil.[2] The current ambassador is Elbrus Kutrashev [ru], incumbent since 8 April 2021.[3]

Background

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The historic relations between Russia and Iraq began when the latter was part of the Ottoman Empire. The Russian imperial government still showed wide interest in the region. Since the 19th century, a Russian consulate was functioning in Baghdad, due to the Shia Muslims' pilgrimage to the holy cities of Baghdad, Karbala and Najaf. After the Russian Empire annexed the North Caucasus and Central Asia this further increased due to the large Shia populations native to those regions. According to the Russian consul in Baghdad on 19 November 1890, 19,500 pilgrims from the North Caucasus and Central Asia visited the holy shrines in Iraq.[4] However, after the end of the Ottoman rule in the region, the diplomatic mission was ended.

Soviet Union re-established diplomatic ties with newly independent Iraq on 9 September 1944. In 1955, relations were disrupted by the Iraqi side. In July 1958, both countries resumed diplomatic relations.

Timeline of the diplomatic relations

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  • 25 August - 9 September 1944 - diplomatic relations were established at the mission level.
  • 3 January - 8 January 1955 - diplomatic relations were interrupted by the Iraqi government.
  • 18 July 1958 - an agreement was reached on the resumption of diplomatic relations at the embassy level.

List of representatives (1944 – present)

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Representatives of the Soviet Union to the Kingdom of Iraq (1944 - 1958)

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Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Grigory Zaitsev [ru] Envoy 29 November 1944 20 January 1949
Ivan Yakushin [ru] Chargé d'affaires 1952 8 January 1955
Diplomatic relations interrupted (1955 - 1958)

Representatives of the Soviet Union to the First Iraqi Republic (1958 - 1968)

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Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Grigory Zaitsev [ru] Ambassador 31 July 1958 15 October 1961
Mikhail Yakovlev [ru] Ambassador 15 October 1961 7 August 1965
Vasily Nikolayev [ru] Ambassador 7 August 1965 1968

Representatives of the Soviet Union to the Second Iraqi Republic (1968 - 1991)

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Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Vasily Nikolayev [ru] Ambassador 1968 17 December 1969
Veniamin Likhachyov [ru] Ambassador 20 February 1970 29 December 1973
Anatoly Barkovsky [ru] Ambassador 29 December 1973 17 March 1982
Viktor Minin [ru] Ambassador 17 March 1982 19 December 1989
Viktor Posluvalyuk [ru] Ambassador 13 March 1990 25 December 1991

Representatives of the Russian Federation to the Second Iraqi Republic (1991 - 2003)

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Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Viktor Posluvalyuk [ru] Ambassador 13 March 1990 22 April 1992
Nikolai Kartuzov [ru] Ambassador 22 August 1994 6 August 1999
Aleksandr Shein [ru] Ambassador 9 August 1999 29 March 2002
Vladimir Titorenko Ambassador 29 March 2002 16 May 2003

Representatives of the Russian Federation to the Coalition Provisional Authority (2003 - 2004)

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Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Vladimir Titorenko Ambassador 16 May 2003 8 December 2003
Ilya Morgunov [ru] Chargé d'affaires 8 December 2003 28 June 2004

Representatives of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Iraq (2004 - present)

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Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Ilya Morgunov [ru] Chargé d'affaires 28 June 2004 3 March 2005
Vladimir Chamov [ru] Ambassador 3 March 2005 16 October 2008
Valeryan Shuvayev [ru] Ambassador 16 October 2008 2 March 2012
Ilya Morgunov [ru] Ambassador 2 March 2012 3 October 2016
Maksim Maksimov [ru] Ambassador 3 October 2016 8 April 2021
Elbrus Kutrashev [ru] Ambassador 8 April 2021

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Embassy of Russia in the Republic of Iraq".
  2. ^ "Consulate of Russia in Erbil, Iraq".
  3. ^ "The Ambassador, Russian embassy in Iraq".
  4. ^ Litvinov VP State regulation of pilgrimage of Shiite Muslims of Turkestan (late XIX - early XX centuries) // Bulletin of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University. - 2014. - T. 14. - No. 3. - S. 38 - 39.
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