List of ambassadors of Russia to Belgium

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Belgium is the official representative of the President and the Government of the Russian Federation to the King and the Government of Belgium.

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Belgium
Emblem of the Russian Foreign Ministry
Incumbent Aleksandr Tokovinin [ru] since 16 June 2016
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Embassy of Russia in Brussels
Style	His Excellency The Honourable
Reports to	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Seat	Brussels
Appointer	President of Russia
Term length	At the pleasure of the President
Formation	1853
First holder	Mikhail Khreptovich [ru]
Website	Embassy of Russia in Belgium

The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Embassy of Russia in Brussels.^[1] There is a consulate general in Antwerp.^[2] The post of Russian Ambassador to Belgium is currently held by Aleksandr Tokovinin [ru], incumbent since 16 June 2016.^[3]

History of diplomatic relations

Main article: Belgium–Russia relations

Diplomatic relations between the Russian Empire and Belgium were first established in 1853, with the first envoy to Belgium, Mikhail Khreptovich [ru], appointed on 11 April 1853. The last imperial envoy, Dmitry Nelidov [ru], continued to represent Russia as an agent of the Russian Provisional Government after the February Revolution in 1917, but ceased to be recognised by the new Soviet government after the October Revolution later that year. Diplomatic relations were established between the Soviet Union and Belgium in 1935, and a new representative, Yevgeny Rubinin [ru] was appointed on 2 November that year. His tenure came to an end with the German invasion and subsequent occupation of Belgium in 1940. Relations were restored once more in 1941 after the Soviet Union entered the war on the side of the allies, with Aleksandr Bogomolov [ru] appointed envoy to the Belgian government in exile in London. By early 1943 the mission had been upgraded to an embassy. Relations continued after the war, and with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the incumbent Soviet ambassador, Nikolai Afanasevsky [ru], continued as the representative of the Russian Federation until 1994.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

List of representatives (1853 – present)

Representatives of the Russian Empire to Belgium (1853 – 1917)

Name	Title	Appointment	Termination	Notes
Mikhail Khreptovich [ru]	Envoy	11 April 1853	17 July 1856
Aleksandr Rikhter [ru]	Envoy	17 July 1856	16 April 1859
Nikolay Orlov	Envoy	3 July 1859	13 December 1869
Andrey Bludov [ru]	Envoy	13 December 1869	30 March 1886
Lev Urusov [ru]	Envoy	3 June 1886	19 November 1897
Nikolai Girs [ru]	Envoy	4 December 1897	20 September 1910
Ivan Kudashev [ru]	Envoy	20 September 1910	17 February 1916
Dmitry Nelidov [ru]	Envoy	10 March 1916	3 March 1917

Representatives of the Russian Provisional Government to Belgium (1917)

Name	Title	Appointment	Termination	Notes
Dmitry Nelidov [ru]	Envoy	3 March 1917	26 November 1917

Representatives of the Soviet Union to Belgium (1935 – 1991)

Name	Title	Appointment	Termination	Notes
Yevgeny Rubinin [ru]	Envoy	2 November 1935	15 July 1940
Aleksandr Bogomolov	Envoy	18 October 1942	30 November 1943	Envoy to the Belgian government in exile in London Ambassador in 1943
Viktor Lebedev [ru]	Ambassador	30 November 1943	6 January 1945
Mikhail Sergeyev [ru]	Ambassador	20 March 1945	12 July 1946
Aleksei Pavlov [ru]	Ambassador	18 August 1946	25 April 1950
Viktor Avilov	Ambassador	24 January 1953	9 October 1958
Sergey Afanasyev [ru]	Ambassador	9 October 1958	31 August 1962
Pavel Gerasimov [ru]	Ambassador	29 September 1962	25 March 1967
Vasily Grubyakov [ru]	Ambassador	31 March 1967	28 January 1969
Fyodor Molochkov [ru]	Ambassador	28 June 1969	8 July 1971
Vladimir Sobolev	Ambassador	8 July 1971	30 April 1975
Sergey Romanovsky [ru]	Ambassador	30 April 1975	30 October 1984
Sergey Nikitin	Ambassador	30 November 1984	25 May 1987
Feliks Bogdanov [ru]	Ambassador	25 May 1987	8 June 1990
Nikolay Afanasevsky	Ambassador	24 June 1990	25 December 1991

Representatives of the Russian Federation to Belgium (1991 – present)

Name	Title	Appointment	Termination	Notes
Nikolay Afanasevsky	Ambassador	25 December 1991	3 October 1994
Vitaly Churkin	Ambassador	3 October 1994	25 February 1998
Sergey Kislyak	Ambassador	25 February 1998	28 May 2003
Vadim Lukov [ru]	Ambassador	30 September 2004	27 October 2009
Aleksandr Romanov [ru]	Ambassador	18 December 2009	16 June 2016
Aleksandr Tokovinin [ru]	Ambassador	16 June 2016

References

1. "Посольство Российской Федерации в Королевстве Бельгия" (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia). Retrieved 5 October 2019.
2. "Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Antwerp". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia). Retrieved 5 October 2019.
3. "Посол" (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia). Retrieved 5 October 2019.
4. Главы Российских Дипломатических Представительств В Бельгии (in Russian). Embassy of Russia in Brussels. Archived from the original on 2008-12-21. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
5. Послы СССР и России в Европе (in Russian). Pseudology.org. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
6. Представители Российской Империи В Других Странах (in Russian). Worldwide Historical Project. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
7. Послы Союза Советских Социалистических Республик В Странах Европы (in Russian). Worldwide Historical Project. Archived from the original on 2010-04-25. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
8. Послы Российской Федерации В Странах Европы (in Russian). Worldwide Historical Project. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2008-07-20.

External links

• (in Russian, Dutch, and French) Embassy of Russia to Belgium
• (in Russian, Dutch, and French) Embassy of Belgium to Russia