Vasily Sergeyevich Tolstikov (russian: Василий Сергеевич Толстиков; 6 November 1917, Tula – 29 April 2003,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) was a Soviet diplomat and Communist Party official. Tolstikov was born in a family of a public servant. After graduating from the Petersburg State Transport University in 1940 he served in the army until 1946 and fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Between 1946 and 1952 he took various posts in building construction organizations of

, and then served as a party official in the city, eventually assuming the leading party position of First Secretary (1962–1970). After that he was sent as ambassador to China (1970–1979) and to the Netherlands (1979–1982). Tolstikov had no prior knowledge of foreign languages and

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

; besides, he had to start from scratch as there was no Soviet ambassador in China in 1964–1970. Nevertheless, Tolstikov managed to normalize the China-USSR relationship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolstikov, Vasily 1917 births 2003 deaths Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to the Netherlands Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to China Burials at Bogoslovskoe Cemetery Recipients of the Order of Lenin Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands)