Yuri Viktorovich Ushakov (; born 13 March 1947) is a Russian and former

Soviet 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 ...

diplomat who served as the

Ambassador of Russia 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 ...

from 1998 until 2008. Since 2012, he has been an advisor to the

President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...

on foreign policy issues. He has the federal state 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 ...

Early career

Ushakov is a graduate of

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 entered the service of the

Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics () was founded on 6 July 1923. It had three names during its existence: People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (1923–1946), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1946–1991) ...

in 1970. In the same year he was sent to the Soviet Embassy, Copenhagen. Returning to Moscow, he worked in the Department of the Scandinavian Countries, in the General Secretariat. He completed advanced training courses at the Diplomatic Academy, defended his Ph.D. thesis on the foreign policy of the countries of northern Europe. From 1986 to 1992. he was Counsellor-Envoy of the Embassy of the USSR and Russia in Denmark. He was the Russian Ambassador to the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

(OSCE) from 1996 to 1998.

Envoy to Washington

He was appointed Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States in December 1998. He commented on the Beslan school massacre in North Ossetia-Alania, Russia: He served until

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

replaced him with

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 ...

on 31 May 2008.

In government

Vladimir Putin and Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud 2

From June 2008 to May 2012 Ushakov was Deputy Chief of the Government Staff of the Russian Federation. Since May 2012 he has been Aide to the President of the Russian Federation responsible for international affairs in the Presidential Administration. In June 2019, Ushakov said that Russian 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 ...

and Chinese President

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

would sign a new declaration on their "global partnership and strategic cooperation, which are entering a new era", saying that "the positions of Russia and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

are very close or coincide completely on most international issues." In February 2022, he dismissed US warnings that Russia was planning to invade Ukraine, saying: "We don't understand why they are spreading clearly false information about Russian intentions." In July 2023, Ushakov told Russian media that 49 out of 54 African states had confirmed the participation of their delegations at the

2023 Russia–Africa Summit The second Russia–Africa Summit was held at the Expo Forum in St. Petersburg on 27 and 28 July 2023, following its postponement, having been originally scheduled for October 2022 at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ...

in St. Petersburg.

Personal life

Ushakov's family consists of him, his wife, and a daughter. According to his income declaration, Ushakov earned 8,736,043 rubles in 2018, while his spouse earned 214,527 rubles during the same period. In 2022, an investigation by the "Metla" publication revealed that the Ushakov family owned real estate valued at over 700 million rubles. Additionally, Yuri Ushakov is fluent in English and Danish.

Honors

Russian honors

* Badge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs "For Contribution to International Cooperation" (2017) * Medal "For Contribution to the Creation of the

Eurasian Economic Union The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The EAEU has an integrated single ...

" 1st class (2015) * Order of

Seraphim of Sarov Seraphim of Sarov (; – ), born Prókhor Isídorovich Moshnín (Mashnín) �ро́хор Иси́дорович Мошни́н (Машни́н) is one of the most renowned Russian saints and is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and t ...

, 2nd Degree (2013) *

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 ...

(2008) * First Class of the

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

(2007) * Honored Worker of the Diplomatic Service of the Russian Federation (2006) * Medal of the Order of Honour (2004) *

Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a Russian medal. It was established on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree No.442. Its award criteria were modified on 6 January 1999 by Presidential Decree 19 and again on 7 September 201 ...

(1996) * Honorary Worker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Foreign honours

* Order of Manas (

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

, 2017) * Order of Friendship (Kazakhstan, 2019) *

Order of the Serbian Flag Order of the Serbian Flag () is the second highest state Order (decoration), order of Serbia. The order is awarded by the decree of the President of Serbia, President of the Republic on special occasions, typically at the ceremonies held on the S ...

(

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, 2019)

Diplomatic rank

* Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador, 1st Class (March 18, 1992) * Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador (November 10, 1995)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ushakov, Yuri 1947 births Living people 1st class Active State Councillors of the Russian Federation Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Russian Federation) Diplomats from Moscow Honored Employee of the Diplomatic Service (Russia) Ambassadors of Russia to the United States Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni Permanent representatives of Russia to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Deputy foreign ministers of Russia Aides to the president of Russia