Alexander Nikitich Darchiev (; born 14 May 1960) is a Russian diplomat who is serving as the

Russian ambassador to the United States The Russian ambassador to the United States is the official representative of the president of the Russian Federation and the Russian government to the president of the United States and the United States government. The ambassador's official tit ...

since 2025. He was formerly the ambassador to Canada from 2014 to 2021.

Biography

Alexander Darchiev was born on 14 May 1960 to the family of a diplomat in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. He studied history at

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, graduating in 1983, and learned to speak fluent English and French. Darchiev was a fellow at the Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies at the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

during the 1980s, before joining the Russian Foreign Ministry in 1992, just after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. He worked in its North America Department for his entire career. He was the head of a section in the North American Department of the Foreign Ministry in the mid-1990s, before he became an advisor at the Russian Embassy in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In 2003 he was made the deputy director of the North American Department. He later served as the

deputy chief of mission A deputy chief of mission (DCM, in Europe the term deputy head of mission – DHoM or DHM is used instead) is the number-two diplomat assigned to an embassy or other diplomatic mission. The deputy chief of mission is usually considered the second ...

of the Russian Embassy to the U.S. from 2005 to 2010 with the rank of

minister-counselor Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

. Darchiev was the Russian Ambassador to Canada from 24 October 2014 to 11 January 2021. Since 2016 he has held the Russian civil service rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Following his tenure as ambassador to Canada, he became the Director of the North American Department. After

Anatoly Antonov Anatoly Ivanovich Antonov ( rus, Анатoлий Ивaнович Антoнов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ɐnˈtonəf; born 15 May 1955) is a Russian military official and diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Russia to the United ...

was relieved of his duties as ambassador to the United States in October 2024, the following month it was reported that Darchiev has been nominated for the role, though he was not officially confirmed. On 27 February 2025, he led the Russian delegation in talks between the United States and Russia that took place in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey, which were a continuation of the earlier negotiations in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, Saudi Arabia. They discussed the restoration of

Russia–United States relations The United States and the Russian Federation have had diplomatic relations since the establishment of the latter country in 1991, a continuation of the relationship the United States has had with various Russian governments since 1803. While bo ...

, including by removing restrictions on their embassies. At the meeting the U.S. delegation gave a note to the Russian side accepting Darchiev's appointment as

Russian Ambassador to the United States The Russian ambassador to the United States is the official representative of the president of the Russian Federation and the Russian government to the president of the United States and the United States government. The ambassador's official tit ...

. On 28 February, it was announced the Darchiev has been appointed as ambassador, and that this was accepted by the U.S. government. He was appointed by President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

on March 6, 2025 per decree № 121.

Awards

* Order of Honour (30 December 2022) *

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at ...

(23 August 2019)

References

External links

Alexander Darchiev Profile
on

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; , МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign policy and foreign relations of Russia. It is a continuation of the Ministry of Foreig ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darchiyev, Aleksandr Living people 1960 births Russian diplomats Moscow State University alumni Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Friendship Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Russian Federation) Ambassadors of Russia to the United States Ambassadors of Russia to Canada