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 States from 2017 to 2024. He was appointed by

presidential decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

on 21 August 2017, succeeding

Sergey Kislyak Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak ( rus, Серге́й Ива́нович Кисля́к, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ kʲɪˈslʲak; born 7 September 1950) is a Russian senior diplomat and politician. Since September 2017, he has represented Mor ...

, and took up his post in Washington, D.C. on 1 September. He was previously a Deputy Minister of Defence and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has the civilian service rank of

1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation 70px, Shoulder's rank 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal state civilian service rank of Russia. The rank of the 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation was first introduced ...

. Since 2015, he has been under sanctions of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and Canada, in response to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine. He has a reputation for being a tough negotiator and a hardliner.

Early life and education

Antonov was born on 15 May 1955 in

Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In 1978, Antonov graduated from the

Moscow State Institute of International Relations Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) (, also known as MGIMO University) is an higher education, institute of higher education located in Moscow, Russia. The institute is run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Russian ...

(MGIMO), and in 1983 received a master's degree. In 2012, he earned his doctorate of political science from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow. His doctoral dissertation was entitled ''Controlling nuclear weapons as a factor in ensuring national and international security''. He is fluent in English and Burmese.

Career

Antonov began his diplomatic career after earning his undergraduate degree in 1978. He spent the next 30 years at the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its successor, the

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 ...

, where his area of speciality was control of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. In 2004, he was appointed Director of the Department for Security and Disarmament. On 2 February 2011, he was promoted by a

Presidential Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

to become Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation. As Deputy Minister of Defense, he was personally sanctioned by the

following Russia's military intervention in Ukraine. He had accused

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

in December 2014 of turning Ukraine into a "frontline of confrontation" with Russia. On 28 December 2016, he was appointed Deputy

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

. In March 2017, he was named as one of the candidates for the post of

Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations is the leader of Permanent Mission of Russia to the United Nations, Russia's diplomatic mission to the United Nations. Vasily Nebenzya is charged with representing Russia ...

, after the death of

Vitaly Churkin Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin ( rus, Виталий Иванович Чуркин, p=vʲɪˈtalʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ˈtɕurkʲɪn; 21 February 1952 – 20 February 2017) was a Russian diplomat. As a child actor, he starred in three films '' The Blu ...

. However, in the end, it was decided to appoint Vasily Nebenzya to this post.

Ambassador to the United States

Nomination and confirmation

Antonov is considered a hardliner against the West, earning him a reputation as a " bull terrier." In early autumn 2016, he was considered to be the next Russian Ambassador to the United States as the Kremlin assumed that

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

would win the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

and, therefore, bilateral relations would remain strained. However, despite the fact that

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

won the election, Antonov was still chosen to take over the post from

, who had been the ambassador since 2008. In February 2017, Antonov was named the main candidate for this post. On 11 May 2017, the Russian Foreign Ministry formally submitted Antonov to the Federal Assembly, which voted to endorse him as ambassador on 18 May following a closed session of the State Duma's foreign policy committee. On 21 August 2017,

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 ...

formally appointed Antonov as the Ambassador of Russia to the United States by

Term

Antonov was recalled to Moscow on 17 March 2021 after US President Joe Biden called Putin a "killer." The decision to return Antonov to

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 ...

was made following the results of the

2021 Russia–United States summit The 2021 Russia–United States summit (also known as Geneva 2021 or the Biden–Putin summit) was a Summit (meeting), summit meeting between United States President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin on 16 June 2021, in Geneva, Swi ...

. On 20 February 2022, Antonov denied that Russia was planning an invasion of Ukraine. After the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Antonov has since rejected the notion that Russia's invasion was failing, condemned rising "

Russophobia Anti-Russian sentiment or Russophobia is the dislike or fear of Russia, Russian people, or Russian culture. The opposite of Russophobia is Russophilia. Historically, Russophobia has included state-sponsored and grassroots mistreatment and di ...

," and lamented a post-Soviet era in which Russia was "naive", trusted the West, and watched its stature decline. In February 2023, Antonov claimed that the U.S. government was attempting to demonise Russia and "fuel the Ukrainian crisis" by accusing Moscow of crimes against humanity. Antonov was relieved of duty on 10 October 2024, with a replacement not yet named at the time. In a letter dated 29 June, Antonov wrote that his "assignment ascoming to an end".

Awards

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

IV class *

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky () is an Order (distinction), order of merit of the Russia, Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious ser ...

* Order of Military Merit * Order of Honour (twice) *

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 ...

* Medal "For the Return of Crimea" * Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" * Medal "Participant of the military operation in Syria" *Medal "For strengthening combat Commonwealth" *Medal "For distinction in military service" I class *Medal "For distinction in military service" II class *Medal "For distinction in military service" III class

References

External links

Anatoly Antonov Profile
on

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonov, Anatoly 1955 births Living people 1st class Active State Councillors of the Russian Federation Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Russian Federation) Ambassadors of Russia to the United States Politicians from Omsk Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni United Russia politicians Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Russian individuals subject to European Union sanctions Military personnel from Omsk Deputy defence ministers of Russia Deputy foreign ministers of Russia Recipients of the Medal "Participant of the military operation in Syria"