For many millennia, the fate of states and the peoples inhabiting them has very often been decided not on the battlefields, but in the course of diplomatic negotiations. That is why today no country can do without the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, as experience shows, the successful work of this department is often associated with personal qualities, as well as with the professionalism and organizational skills of its head. To be convinced of what has been said, it is worth finding out who previously held this high post, and which Russian foreign ministers have special merits to our country.

Ambassadorial order

When a permanent diplomatic service appeared in Russia is not known for certain. However, the oldest surviving document - the decree on the appointment of Ivan Viskovaty as a clerk of the embassy order - dates back to 1549. Apparently, this official zealously set to work, since after he took this position, papers relating to diplomatic activity in the first years of the reign of Ivan the Terrible were brought to full order, and he himself soon became the keeper of the state seal.

Viskovaty led the embassy order for 21 years, after which he was suspected of treason and executed. The disgrace also befell Vasily Shchekalov, who replaced him in office, and the new clerk, Afanasy Vlasyev, became famous for officially representing the fiancé of False Dmitry I during his engagement to Marina Mnishek.

Embassy Board

Although the exchange of permanent diplomatic representatives between Russia and some foreign states took place as early as 1673, the formation of a foreign affairs agency following the European model began in 1706 with the founding of the Ambassadorial field office. 12 years later, it was transformed into the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and, from the moment of its foundation, was headed by Gavriil Golovkin for the next 17 years. This extraordinary personality was the closest associate of Peter the Great and played a crucial role in the issue of the accession of Anna Ioannovna.

In subsequent years, A. Osterman, A. Cherkassky, A. Bestuzhev-Ryumin occupied the high post of President of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. The latter especially distinguished himself by ensuring the triumph of Russian diplomacy in the Elizabethan era and taking the post of chancellor. In addition, under him, a service was created to read the correspondence of foreign ambassadors.

In 1758, exiled A. Bestuzhev was replaced as head of the foreign policy department by M. Vorontsov, who soon fell out of favor and left for "treatment abroad." At the same time, his duties were assigned to Count Nikita Panin. Then the cabinet leapfrog began, when the chairmen of the board were replaced by the first present (corresponding to the status of acting).

Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Alexander I

Everything fell into place when a new foreign ministry was organized on the basis of Embassy Collegium(some time existed in parallel).

The first Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia - Alexander Romanovich Vorontsov - received this position thanks to his brother, who was respected in English society and could contribute to rapprochement with Great Britain. Such an alliance was necessary for success in the confrontation with France, where Napoleon reigned. The biography of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Vorontsov is also notable for the fact that he helped A. N. Radishchev in the preparation of the draft of the first Constitution.

After the resignation of Alexander Romanovich, A. Budberg held the post of minister for several months, but the signing of the Tilsit Treaty was the collapse of his diplomatic career.

During the difficult period of the war with Napoleon, N. Rumyantsev led the Foreign Ministry. This minister initiated the signing of several important international treaties, including the Friedrichsgam treaty, according to which Finland became part of Russia, and the St. Petersburg treaty on peace with Sweden.

After his resignation, Alexander the First himself headed the department for some time, and then transferred the affairs to K. Nesselrode. If earlier Russian foreign ministers changed on average every 5-6 years, then this experienced diplomat served for almost 4 decades. His resignation was honorable, and the decree on it was signed by Alexander II in 1856, after the death of Nicholas I.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia from 1856 to 1917

Among those who held the post of head of the foreign policy department after K. Nesselrode and before his abolition, the following deserve mention:

• A. Gorchakov, who was an active supporter of an alliance with Bismarck's Germany;
• A. Izvolsky, notorious for his role in the "diplomatic Tsushima" associated with the occupation of Bosnia by Austria;
• S. Sazonov, who in 1915 concluded a secret agreement with the Entente states on the transfer of Constantinople and the straits of the Black Sea under the control of Russia.

The last person to be included in the list under the heading "Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia" was Nikolai Pokrovsky, who was arrested during the days of the February Revolution.

Foreign Ministry of the Russian Republic

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was formed by the provisional government on March 15, 1917. It was decided that Cadet P. Milyukov would lead it. Thanks to his titanic efforts, many states recognized the government of Kerensky. However, when it became known about his promise to the Entente governments to wage war until victory, he was removed from his post due to protests from the Petrograd garrison.

He was replaced by M. Tereshchenko, who was arrested on November 8 in winter palace. The former Russian foreign minister escaped arrest and died in Monaco in 1956.

People's Commissariat

The new government abolished the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was replaced by the People's Commissariat, whose first leader was the notorious L. Trotsky. In March 1918, he refused this post, as he was opposed to the signing of the Brest Peace. He was replaced by G. Chicherin, who came from a family of hereditary diplomats and was able to strengthen the precarious position of the young Republic in the international arena. After his retirement from 1930 to 1939, the people's commissar was M. Litvinov, who was subsequently suspended from his duties due to the failure of the Anglo-French-Soviet negotiations.

V. Molotov became the next head of the foreign policy department. He had to work as the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the most difficult pre-war years and during the Second World War. It was he who read the famous appeal to the Soviet people on June 22, 1941, and shortly before that he signed the infamous Pact with Ribbentrop.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR

A prominent figure in the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs was A. Gromyko, who held this position for 28 years and handed over his post to Eduard Shevardnadze. The latter was the closest associate of M. Gorbachev and his guide foreign policy. In 1991, the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR was abolished.

Foreign Ministry after the collapse of the USSR

In 1991, the functions of the union ministry were transferred to the RSFSR Foreign Ministry, headed by A. Kozyrev, and after his resignation, E. Primakov began to lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I. Ivanov became his successor. As a result of the resignation of the Kasyanov government, he surrendered his affairs, and the question arose of appointing a new head of the Foreign Ministry. As a result, in 2004 it was announced that new minister Foreign Affairs of Russia - Sergei Lavrov. He began his career in 1972 as an intern at the USSR Foreign Ministry and was respected by his colleagues.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia: Lavrov (biography)

The diplomat was born in Moscow in 1950. After graduating from an English special school (he completed his studies with a silver medal), he entered MGIMO. Since 1972, he worked in the Foreign Ministry of the USSR. Held the positions of Attache of the Embassy in Sri Lanka, Senior Advisor of the Representative Office Soviet Union at the UN, etc. From 1994 to 2004 he was the permanent representative of our country to the United Nations.

Today, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov is recognized as one of the most influential and respected diplomats and an excellent negotiator, able to reconcile even opponents who have been unable to reach a consensus for decades.

Now you know who different years headed Russian diplomacy, and to whom we owe the ups and downs of domestic foreign policy over the past 400 years.

On July 2, 1985, Eduard Shevardnadze assumed the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. The "amateur" decided to recall some of the minister's Soviet colleagues.

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (party pseudonym, real name- Skryabin) was born on February 25 (March 9), 1890 in the Kukarka settlement of the Kukarsky district of the Vyatka province (now the city of Sovetsk, Kirov region) in the family of Mikhail Prokhorovich Scriabin, an clerk of the trading house of the merchant Yakov Nebogatikov.

V. M. Molotov's childhood years were spent in Vyatka and Nolinsk. In 1902-1908 he studied at the 1st Kazan real school. In the wake of the events of 1905, he joined the revolutionary movement, in 1906 he joined the RSDLP. In April 1909 he was first arrested and exiled to the Vologda province.

After serving his exile, in 1911, V. M. Molotov arrived in St. Petersburg, passed the exams for a real school as an external student and entered the economic department of the Polytechnic Institute. Since 1912, he collaborated in the Bolshevik newspaper Zvezda, then became the secretary of the editorial office of the newspaper Pravda, a member of the St. Petersburg Committee of the RSDLP. During the preparation of the publication of Pravda, he met I. V. Stalin.

After the arrest of the faction of the RSDLP in the IV State Duma in 1914, he hid under the name Molotov. Since the autumn of 1914, he worked in Moscow on the reconstruction of the party organization defeated by the Okhrana. In 1915, V. M. Molotov was arrested and exiled for three years to the Irkutsk province. In 1916 he escaped from exile and lived illegally.

V. M. Molotov met the February Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. He was a delegate to the VII (April) All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP (b) (April 24-29, 1917), a delegate to the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) from the Petrograd organization. He was a member of the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet and the Military Revolutionary Committee, which led the overthrow of the Provisional Government in October 1917.

After the establishment of Soviet power, V. M. Molotov was in leading party work. In 1919, he was chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial executive committee, later became secretary of the Donetsk provincial committee of the RCP (b). In 1920 he was elected secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Ukraine.

In 1921-1930, V. M. Molotov served as Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. Since 1921, he was a candidate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the party, in 1926 he joined the Politburo. Actively participated in the fight against the inner-party opposition, moved into the number of close associates of I. V. Stalin.

In 1930-1941, V. M. Molotov headed the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, at the same time from May 1939 he was the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR. An entire era in Soviet foreign policy is associated with his name. V. M. Molotov’s signature is under the non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany of August 23, 1939 (the so-called “Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact”), the assessments of which were and remain ambiguous.

The fate of V. M. Molotov was to inform the Soviet people about the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR on June 22, 1941. The words spoken by him then: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours, ”they entered the history of the Great Patriotic War 1941−1945.

It was Molotov who informed the Soviet people about the attack of Nazi Germany

During the war years, V. M. Molotov served as First Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, Deputy Chairman State Committee defense of the USSR. In 1943 he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. V. M. Molotov took an active part in organizing and holding the Tehran (1943), Crimean (1945) and Potsdam (1945) conferences of the heads of government of the three allied powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, at which the main parameters of the post-war structure of Europe were determined.

V. M. Molotov remained as head of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (from 1946 - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR) until 1949, again headed the ministry in 1953-1957. From 1941 to 1957, he simultaneously served as First Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (since 1946 - the Council of Ministers) of the USSR.

At the June plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1957, V. M. Molotov spoke out against N. S. Khrushchev, joining his opponents, who were condemned as an “anti-party group”. Together with its other members, he was removed from the leading bodies of the party and removed from all government posts.

In 1957-1960, V. M. Molotov was the USSR ambassador to the Mongolian People's Republic, in 1960-1962 he headed the Soviet representation in international agency for Atomic Energy in Vienna. In 1962 he was recalled from Vienna and expelled from the CPSU. By order of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs of September 12, 1963, V. M. Molotov was released from work in the ministry in connection with his retirement.

In 1984, with the sanction of K. U. Chernenko, V. M. Molotov was reinstated in the CPSU with the preservation of his party experience.

V. M. Molotov died in Moscow on November 8, 1986 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.

Andrei Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky, a descendant of an old Polish noble family, a former Menshevik who signed the order for the arrest of Lenin, it would seem, was doomed to fall into the millstones of the system. Surprisingly, instead he himself came to power, holding the posts: Prosecutor of the USSR, Prosecutor of the RSFSR, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rector of Moscow State University.

He owed much of this to his personal qualities, because even his opponents often note a deep education and outstanding oratory skills. It is for this reason that Vyshinsky's lectures and court speeches have always attracted the attention not only of the professional legal community, but of the entire population. His performance was also noted. Already as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he worked from 11 a.m. to 4-5 a.m. the next day.

This is what contributed to his contribution to legal science. At one time, his works on forensic science, criminal procedure, the theory of state and law, and international law were considered classics. And even now the foundation of modern Russian jurisprudence is the concept of branch division of the legal system developed by A. Ya. Vyshinsky.

As Minister, Vyshinsky worked from 11 a.m. to 4-5 a.m. the next day.

But nevertheless, A. Ya. Vyshinsky entered history as the “chief Soviet prosecutor” at the trials of the 1930s. For this reason, his name is almost always associated with the Great Terror period. The "Moscow trials" undoubtedly did not comply with the principles of a fair trial. On the basis of circumstantial evidence, the innocent were sentenced to death or long terms of imprisonment.

As an "inquisitor" he was also characterized by the extrajudicial form of sentencing in which he participated - the so-called "deuce", officially - the Commission of the NKVD of the USSR and the USSR Prosecutor. The defendants in this case were deprived of even a formal trial.

However, I will allow myself to quote Vyshinsky himself: “It would be a big mistake to see in the accusatory work of the prosecutor's office its main content. The main task of the prosecutor's office is to be the guide and guardian of the rule of law."

As Prosecutor of the USSR, his main task was to reform the prosecution and investigative apparatus. The following problems had to be dealt with: low education of prosecutors and investigators, shortage of personnel, red tape, negligence. As a result, a unique system of supervision over the observance of the law was formed, which the prosecutor's office remains at the present time.

The direction of Vyshinsky's actions was even human rights in nature, as far as it was possible in the conditions of totalitarian reality. So, for example, in January 1936, he initiated a review of cases against collective farmers and representatives of rural authorities convicted of embezzlement in the early 30s. Tens of thousands of them were released.

Less well known are the activities aimed at supporting the Soviet defense. In numerous speeches and writings, he defended the independence and procedural powers of lawyers, often criticizing his colleagues for neglecting the side of the defense. However, the declared ideals were not implemented in practice, if we recall, for example, the "triples", which were the opposite of the competitive process.

The diplomatic career of A. Ya. Vyshinsky is no less interesting. IN last years During his lifetime, he served as Permanent Representative of the USSR to the United Nations. In his speeches, he expressed an authoritative opinion in many areas. international politics and international law. His speech on the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is well known - Vyshinsky foresaw problems with the implementation of the proclaimed rights, which are only now noticed in the scientific and professional community.

The personality of Andrei Yanuarievich Vyshinsky is ambiguous. On the one hand, participation in punitive justice. On the other hand, scientific and professional achievements, strong personal qualities, striving to achieve the ideal of "socialist legality". It is they who compel even Vyshinsky's most vehement opponent to recognize in him that bearer of the highest values—"a man of his own business."

It can be concluded that it is possible to be him in conditions of totalitarianism. This was confirmed by A. Ya. Vyshinsky.

Born into a family of a railway worker. After the family moved to Tashkent, he studied first at the gymnasium and then at the secondary school.

In 1926 he graduated from the law faculty of the Moscow state university named after M. V. Lomonosov and the agrarian faculty of the Institute of Red Professors.

Since 1926 - in the organs of justice, in 1926-1928 he worked as a prosecutor in Yakutia. Since 1929 - on scientific work. In 1933-1935 he worked in the political department of one of the Siberian state farms. After the publication of a number of notable articles, he was invited to the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Since 1935 - in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (Department of Science). According to Leonid Mlechin, at one of the meetings on science, Shepilov "allowed himself to object to Stalin." Stalin suggested that he back down, but Shepilov stood his ground, as a result of which he was expelled from the Central Committee and spent seven months without work.

Since 1938 - Scientific Secretary of the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

In the first days of the war, he volunteered for the front as part of the Moscow militia, although he had a “reservation” as a professor and the opportunity to go to Kazakhstan as the director of the Institute of Economics. From 1941 to 1946 - in Soviet army. He went from private to major general, head of the Political Department of the 4th Guards Army.

In 1956, Khrushchev succeeded in removing Molotov from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, putting his ally Shepilov in his place. On June 2, 1956, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Shepilov was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, replacing Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov in this post.

In June 1956, the Soviet Foreign Minister made the first ever tour of the Middle East, visiting Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and also Greece. During negotiations in Egypt with President Nasser in June 1956, he secretly agreed to the USSR to sponsor the construction of the Aswan Dam. At the same time, Shepilov, who was not an international professional by the nature of his previous activities, was impressed by the truly “pharaonic” reception that the then President of Egypt, Nasser, gave him, and upon his return to Moscow, managed to convince Khrushchev to speed up the establishment of relations with the Arab countries of the Middle East in counterweight to the normalization of relations with Israel. At the same time, it should be taken into account that during the Second World War, almost the entire political elite of the countries of the Middle East collaborated in one way or another with Nazi Germany, and Nasser himself and his brothers then studied at German higher military educational institutions.

He represented the position of the USSR on the Suez crisis and on the uprising in Hungary in 1956. He headed the Soviet delegation at the London Conference on the Suez Canal.

Contributed to the normalization of Soviet-Japanese relations: in October 1956, a joint declaration was signed with Japan, ending the state of war. The USSR and Japan exchanged ambassadors.

In his speech at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, he called for the forcible export of socialism outside the USSR. At the same time, he participated in the preparation of Khrushchev's report "On the cult of personality and its consequences", but the prepared version of the report was significantly changed.

Shepilov called for the forced export of socialism outside the USSR

When Malenkov, Molotov and Kaganovich in June 1957 tried to remove Khrushchev at a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, presenting him with a whole list of accusations, Shepilov suddenly also began to criticize Khrushchev for establishing his own "cult of personality", although he was never a member of the named group. As a result of the defeat of the Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich grouping at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU that followed on June 22, 1957, the wording "the anti-party group of Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich and Shepilov who joined them" was born.

There is another, less literary and spectacular explanation of the origins of the wording using the word “joined”: a group that would consist of eight members would be embarrassing to call a “breakaway anti-party group”, since it turned out to be a clear majority, and this would be obvious even to Pravda readers. To be called "factional schismatics", the members of the group had to be no more than seven; Shepilov was the eighth.

It sounds more reasonable to assume that, unlike the seven members of the "anti-party group" - members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Shepilov was defined as "joining" because, as a candidate member of the Presidium, he did not have a decisive vote in voting.

Shepilov was relieved of all party and government posts. Since 1957 - director, since 1959 - deputy director of the Institute of Economics of the Academy of Sciences of the Kirghiz SSR, in 1960-1982 - archeographer, then senior archeographer in the Main Archive Directorate under the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

Since the cliche “and Shepilov who joined them” was actively exaggerated in the press, an anecdote appeared: “The longest surname is I who joined knimshepilov”; when a half-liter bottle of vodka was divided “for three”, the fourth drinking companion was nicknamed “Shepilov”, etc. Thanks to this phrase, millions of Soviet citizens recognized the name of the party functionary. Shepilov's own memoirs are polemically titled "Unjoined"; they are sharply critical of Khrushchev.

Shepilov himself, according to his memoirs, considered the case fabricated. He was expelled from the party in 1962, reinstated in 1976, and in 1991 reinstated in the USSR Academy of Sciences. Since 1982 - retired.

Of all the Russian and Soviet foreign ministers, only one, Andrei Andreevich Gromyko, served a legendaryly long term of twenty-eight years in this post. His name was well known not only in the Soviet Union, but also far beyond its borders. The position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR made him famous all over the world.

The diplomatic fate of A. A. Gromyko developed in such a way that for almost half a century he was at the center of world politics, earned the respect of even his political opponents. In diplomatic circles, he was called "the patriarch of diplomacy", "the most informed foreign minister in the world." His legacy, despite the fact that the Soviet era is far behind, is still relevant today.

A. A. Gromyko was born on July 5, 1909 in the village of Starye Gromyki, Vetka district, Gomel region. In 1932 he graduated from the Institute of Economics, in 1936 - postgraduate studies at the All-Russian Research Institute of Economics Agriculture, Doctor of Economics (since 1956). In 1939 he was transferred to the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (NKID) of the USSR. By this time, as a result of repression, almost all the leading cadres of Soviet diplomacy had been destroyed, and Gromyko quickly began to make a career. In his incomplete 30 years, a native of the Belarusian hinterland with a Ph.D. American countries. It was an unusually steep rise, even for those times when careers were created and collapsed overnight. No sooner had the young diplomat settled in his new apartments on Smolenskaya Square than a summons to the Kremlin followed. Stalin, in the presence of Molotov, said: "Comrade Gromyko, we intend to send you to work at the USSR Embassy in the United States as an adviser." So, A. Gromyko for four years became an adviser to the embassy in the United States and at the same time an envoy to Cuba.

In 1946-1949. deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and at the same time in 1946-1948. fast. representative of the USSR to the UN, in 1949-1952. and 1953-1957. first deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, in 1952-1953. Ambassador of the USSR to Great Britain, in April 1957 Gromyko was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and worked in this post until July 1985. Since 1983, First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. In 1985-1988. Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The diplomatic talent of Andrei Andreevich Gromyko was quickly noticed abroad. Andrei Gromyko's authority, recognized by the West, was of the highest standard. In August 1947, The Times magazine wrote: "As the permanent representative of the Soviet Union on the Security Council, Gromyko does his job at a level of breathtaking competence."

At the same time, with the light hand of Western journalists, Andrei Gromyko, as an active participant in the cold war”, became the owner of a whole series of unflattering nicknames like “Andrey Wolf”, “robot misanthrope”, “man without a face”, “modern Neanderthal”, etc. Gromyko became well known in international circles for his eternally dissatisfied and gloomy expression, as well as extremely uncompromising actions, for which he received the nickname "Mr. No." Regarding this nickname, A. A. Gromyko noted: “They heard my “no” much less often than I heard their “know”, because we put forward much more proposals. They called me “Mr. No” in their newspapers because I didn’t allow myself to be manipulated. Who aspired to this, wanted to manipulate the Soviet Union. We are a great power, and we will not allow anyone to do this!"

Due to his intransigence, Gromyko received the nickname "Mr. No"

However, Willy Brandt, the German Chancellor, noted in his memoirs: “I found Gromyko to be a more pleasant conversationalist than I imagined from the stories about the caustic “Mr. No”. He gave the impression of a correct and imperturbable person, restrained in a pleasant Anglo-Saxon manner. He knew how to make it clear in an unobtrusive way how much experience he has.

A. A. Gromyko strictly adhered to the approved position. “The Soviet Union in the international arena is me,” thought Andrei Gromyko. - All our successes in the negotiations, which led to the conclusion of important international treaties and agreements, are explained by the fact that I was convincedly firm and even adamant, especially when I saw that they were talking to me, and therefore to the Soviet Union, from a position of strength or playing in cat and mouse. I have never fawned over the Westerners, and after I was beaten on one cheek, I did not substitute the other. Moreover, he acted in such a way that my excessively obstinate opponent would have a hard time.”

Many did not know that A. A. Gromyko had a delightful sense of humor. His remarks could include apt comments that came as a surprise at tense moments when receiving delegations. Henry Kissinger, coming to Moscow, was constantly afraid of listening to the KGB. Once, during a meeting, he pointed to a chandelier that hung in the room and asked the KGB to make a copy of American documents for him, since the copying equipment of the Americans was “out of order”. Gromyko answered him in a tone that chandeliers were made under the tsars and they could only have microphones.

Among major achievements Andrei Gromyko singled out four points: the creation of the UN, the development of agreements to limit nuclear weapons, the legalization of borders in Europe and, finally, the recognition of the United States for the USSR as a great power.

Few people today remember that the UN was conceived in Moscow. It was here in October 1943 that the Soviet Union, the United States and Great Britain announced that the world needed an organization to international security. It was easy to declare, but difficult to do. Gromyko stood at the origins of the UN, under the Charter of this organization is his signature. In 1946, he became the first Soviet representative to the UN and at the same time deputy, and then first deputy minister of foreign affairs. Gromyko was a participant, and later the head of the delegation of our country at 22 sessions of the UN General Assembly.

The “question of questions”, “super task”, in the words of A. A. Gromyko himself, for him was the process of negotiations on control over the arms race, both conventional and nuclear. He went through all the stages of the post-war disarmament epic. Already in 1946, on behalf of the USSR, A. A. Gromyko proposed a general reduction and regulation of armaments and a ban on the military use of atomic energy. Gromyko considered the Test Ban Treaty signed on August 5, 1963, to be a matter of special pride. nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water, negotiations on which have been dragging on since 1958.

A. A. Gromyko considered the consolidation of the results of World War II to be another foreign policy priority. This is, first of all, the settlement around West Berlin, the formalization of the status quo with two German states, the FRG and the GDR, and then all-European affairs.

The historical agreements between the USSR (and then Poland and Czechoslovakia) and the FRG in 1970-1971, as well as the quadrilateral agreement of 1971 on West Berlin, demanded tremendous strength, perseverance and flexibility from Moscow. How great the personal role of A. A. Gromyko in the preparation of these fundamental documents for peace in Europe can be seen at least from the fact that in order to develop the text of the Moscow Treaty of 1970, he held 15 meetings with the adviser to Chancellor W. Brandt E. Bahr and the same number with the minister Foreign Affairs V. Scheel.

It was they and previous efforts that cleared the way for détente and the convening of a Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Significance of the signing in August 1975 in Helsinki final act was global in scope. It was, in essence, a code of conduct for states in key areas of relations, including the military-political one. Inviolability was established post-war borders In Europe, to which A. Gromyko attached particular importance, prerequisites have been created for strengthening European stability and security.

It was thanks to the efforts of A. A. Gromyko that all the i's between the USSR and the USA were dotted during the Cold War. In September 1984, at the initiative of the Americans, Andrei Gromyko met with Ronald Reagan in Washington. These were Reagan's first talks with a representative Soviet leadership. Reagan recognized the Soviet Union as a superpower. But even more significant was another statement. Let me recall the words spoken by the spokesman of the myth of the "evil empire" after the end of the meeting in the White House: "The United States respects the status of the Soviet Union as a superpower ... and we have no desire to change it social system". Thus, Gromyko's diplomacy won the United States official recognition of the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of the Soviet Union.

Thanks to Gromyko, relations between the USSR and the USA were stabilized

Andrei Gromyko bore in his memory many facts forgotten by the broad circles of the international community. “You can imagine,” Andrey Gromyko told his son, “there is no one speaking, but the polished Macmillan, Prime Minister of Great Britain. Since it was at the height of the Cold War, he makes attacks on us. Well, I would say that the usual UN kitchen works, with all its political, diplomatic and propaganda tricks. I sit and think about how to respond to these attacks on occasion, during the debate. Suddenly, Nikita Sergeevich, who was sitting next to me, leans over and, as I first thought, is looking for something under the table. I even moved back a little so as not to disturb him. And suddenly I see - he pulls out a shoe and starts pounding it on the surface of the table. Frankly speaking, the first thought was that Khrushchev felt bad. But in a moment I realized that our leader was protesting in this way, seeking to embarrass Macmillan. I tensed up and, against my will, began to pound on the table with my fists - after all, it was necessary to somehow support the head of the Soviet delegation. I did not look in the direction of Khrushchev, I was embarrassed. The situation was really comical. And after all, what is surprising, you can make dozens of smart and even brilliant speeches, but in decades no one will remember the speaker, Khrushchev's shoe will not be forgotten.

As a result of almost half a century of practice, A. A. Gromyko developed for himself the “golden rules” of diplomatic work, which, however, are relevant not only for diplomats:

- it is absolutely unacceptable to immediately reveal all the cards to the other side, to want to solve the problem in one fell swoop;

— cautious use of summit meetings; ill-prepared, they do more harm than good;

- you can not allow yourself to be manipulated either with the help of rude or with the help of sophisticated means;

- For success in foreign policy, a real assessment of the situation is needed. It is even more important that this reality does not disappear anywhere;

- the most difficult thing is the consolidation of the real situation by diplomatic agreements, the international legal registration of a compromise;

— constant struggle for the initiative. In diplomacy, the initiative is The best way protection of state interests.

A. A. Gromyko believed that diplomatic activity is hard work, requiring those who are engaged in it to mobilize all their knowledge and abilities. The task of a diplomat is “to fight to the end for the interests of his country, without prejudice to others.” "Operate across the entire range international relations find useful connections between seemingly separate processes,” this thought was a kind of constant in his diplomatic activity. “The main thing in diplomacy is compromise, harmony between states and their leaders.”

In October 1988 Andrei Andreevich retired and worked on his memoirs. He passed away on July 2, 1989. “The State, the Fatherland is us,” he liked to say. “If we don’t do it, no one will.”

Born on January 25, 1928 in the village of Mamati, Lanchkhut region (Guria).

Graduated from the Tbilisi Medical College. In 1959 he graduated from the Kutaisi Pedagogical Institute. A. Tsulukidze.

Since 1946, in the Komsomol and party work. From 1961 to 1964 he was the first secretary of the district committee of the Communist Party of Georgia in Mtskheta, and then the first secretary of the Pervomaisky district party committee of Tbilisi. In the period from 1964 to 1972 - First Deputy Minister for the Protection of Public Order, then - Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia. From 1972 to 1985 - First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. In this position, he conducted a highly publicized campaign against the shadow market and corruption, which, however, did not lead to the eradication of these phenomena.

In 1985-1990 he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, from 1985 to 1990 he was a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 9-11 convocations. In 1990-1991 - People's Deputy of the USSR.

In December 1990, he resigned "in protest against the impending dictatorship" and left the CPSU the same year. In November 1991, at the invitation of Gorbachev, he again headed the USSR Foreign Ministry (at that time called the Ministry of Foreign Relations), but after the collapse of the USSR, this position was abolished a month later.

Shevardnadze was one of Gorbachev's associates in carrying out the perestroika policy

In December 1991, Minister of Foreign Relations of the USSR E. A. Shevardnadze was one of the first among the leaders of the USSR to recognize the Belovezhskaya Accords and the impending demise of the USSR.

E. A. Shevardnadze was one of M. S. Gorbachev’s associates in pursuing the policy of perestroika, glasnost and détente of international tension.

Sources

1. http://firstolymp.ru/2014/05/28/andrej-yanuarevich-vyshinskij/
2. http://krsk.mid.ru/gromyko-andrej-andreevic

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the USSR: who are they and what were they like?

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov(party pseudonym, real name - Skryabin) was born on February 25 (March 9), 1890 in the Kukarka settlement of the Kukar district of the Vyatka province (now the city of Sovetsk, Kirov region) in the family of Mikhail Prokhorovich Skryabin, clerk of the trading house of the merchant Yakov Nebogatikov.
V. M. Molotov's childhood years were spent in Vyatka and Nolinsk. In 1902-1908 he studied at the 1st Kazan real school. In the wake of the events of 1905, he joined the revolutionary movement, in 1906 he joined the RSDLP. In April 1909 he was first arrested and exiled to the Vologda province.
After serving his exile, in 1911, V. M. Molotov arrived in St. Petersburg, passed the exams for a real school as an external student and entered the economic department of the Polytechnic Institute. Since 1912, he collaborated in the Bolshevik newspaper Zvezda, then became the secretary of the editorial office of the newspaper Pravda, a member of the St. Petersburg Committee of the RSDLP. During the preparation of the publication of Pravda, he met I. V. Stalin.
After the arrest of the faction of the RSDLP in the IV State Duma in 1914, he hid under the name Molotov. Since the autumn of 1914, he worked in Moscow on the reconstruction of the party organization defeated by the Okhrana. In 1915, V. M. Molotov was arrested and exiled for three years to the Irkutsk province. In 1916 he escaped from exile and lived illegally.
V. M. Molotov met the February Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. He was a delegate to the VII (April) All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP (b) (April 24-29, 1917), a delegate to the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) from the Petrograd organization. He was a member of the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet and the Military Revolutionary Committee, which led the overthrow of the Provisional Government in October 1917.
After the establishment of Soviet power, V. M. Molotov was in leading party work. In 1919, he was chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial executive committee, later became secretary of the Donetsk provincial committee of the RCP (b). In 1920 he was elected secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Ukraine.
In 1921-1930, V. M. Molotov served as Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. Since 1921, he was a candidate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the party, in 1926 he joined the Politburo. Actively participated in the fight against the inner-party opposition, moved into the number of close associates of I. V. Stalin.
In 1930-1941, V. M. Molotov headed the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, at the same time from May 1939 he was the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR. An entire era in Soviet foreign policy is associated with his name. V. M. Molotov’s signature is under the non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany of August 23, 1939 (the so-called “Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact”), the assessments of which were and remain ambiguous.
The fate of V. M. Molotov was to inform the Soviet people about the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR on June 22, 1941. The words spoken by him then: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours,” entered the history of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
It was Molotov who informed the Soviet people about the attack of Nazi Germany
During the war years, V. M. Molotov served as First Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, Deputy Chairman of the USSR State Defense Committee. In 1943 he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. V. M. Molotov took an active part in organizing and holding the Tehran (1943), Crimean (1945) and Potsdam (1945) conferences of the heads of government of the three allied powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, at which the main parameters of the post-war structure of Europe were determined.
V. M. Molotov remained as head of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (from 1946 - the USSR Foreign Ministry) until 1949, again headed the ministry in 1953-1957. From 1941 to 1957, he simultaneously served as First Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (since 1946 - the Council of Ministers) of the USSR.

At the June plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1957, V. M. Molotov spoke out against N. S. Khrushchev, joining his opponents, who were condemned as an “anti-party group”. Together with its other members, he was removed from the leading bodies of the party and removed from all government posts.
In 1957-1960, V. M. Molotov was the USSR Ambassador to the Mongolian People's Republic, in 1960-1962 he headed the Soviet representative office in the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. In 1962 he was recalled from Vienna and expelled from the CPSU. By order of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs of September 12, 1963, V. M. Molotov was released from work in the ministry in connection with his retirement.
In 1984, with the sanction of K. U. Chernenko, V. M. Molotov was reinstated in the CPSU with the preservation of his party experience.
V. M. Molotov died in Moscow on November 8, 1986 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Andrei Yanuarievich Vyshinsky(March 4, 1949 − March 5, 1953)
Andrei Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky, a descendant of an old Polish noble family, a former Menshevik who signed the order for the arrest of Lenin, it would seem, was doomed to fall into the millstones of the system. Surprisingly, instead he himself came to power, holding the posts: Prosecutor of the USSR, Prosecutor of the RSFSR, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rector of Moscow State University.
In many ways, he owed these to his personal qualities, because even his opponents often note a deep education and outstanding oratorical abilities. It is for this reason that Vyshinsky's lectures and court speeches have always attracted the attention not only of the professional legal community, but of the entire population. His performance was also noted. Already as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he worked from 11 a.m. to 4-5 a.m. the next day.
This is what contributed to his contribution to legal science. At one time, his works on forensic science, criminal procedure, the theory of state and law, and international law were considered classics. And even now the foundation of modern Russian jurisprudence is the concept of branch division of the legal system developed by A. Ya. Vyshinsky.
As Minister, Vyshinsky worked from 11 a.m. to 4-5 a.m. the next day.
But nevertheless, A. Ya. Vyshinsky entered history as the “chief Soviet prosecutor” at the trials of the 1930s. For this reason, his name is almost always associated with the Great Terror period. The "Moscow trials" undoubtedly did not comply with the principles of a fair trial. On the basis of circumstantial evidence, the innocent were sentenced to death or long terms of imprisonment.
As an "inquisitor" he was also characterized by the extrajudicial form of sentencing in which he participated - the so-called "deuce", officially - the Commission of the NKVD of the USSR and the Prosecutor of the USSR. The defendants in this case were deprived of even a formal trial.
However, I will allow myself to quote Vyshinsky himself: “It would be a big mistake to see in the accusatory work of the prosecutor's office its main content. The main task of the prosecutor's office is to be the guide and guardian of the rule of law.”
As Prosecutor of the USSR, his main task was to reform the prosecution and investigative apparatus. The following problems had to be dealt with: low education of prosecutors and investigators, shortage of personnel, red tape, negligence. As a result, a unique system of supervision over the observance of the law was formed, which the prosecutor's office remains at the present time.
The direction of Vyshinsky's actions was even human rights in nature, as far as it was possible in the conditions of totalitarian reality. So, for example, in January 1936, he initiated a review of cases against collective farmers and representatives of rural authorities convicted of embezzlement in the early 30s. Tens of thousands of them were released.
Less well known are the activities aimed at supporting the Soviet defense. In numerous speeches and writings, he defended the independence and procedural powers of lawyers, often criticizing his colleagues for neglecting the side of the defense. However, the declared ideals were not implemented in practice, if we recall, for example, the "triples", which were the opposite of the competitive process.
The diplomatic career of A. Ya. Vyshinsky is no less interesting. In the last years of his life, he served as the permanent representative of the USSR to the UN. In his speeches, he expressed an authoritative opinion on many areas of international politics and international law. His speech on the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is well known - Vyshinsky foresaw problems with the implementation of the proclaimed rights, which are only now noticed in the scientific and professional community.
The personality of Andrei Yanuarievich Vyshinsky is ambiguous. On the one hand, participation in punitive justice. On the other - scientific and professional achievements, strong personal qualities, the desire to achieve the ideal of "socialist legality". It is they who force even Vyshinsky's most vehement opponent to recognize in him that bearer of the highest values ​​- "a man of his own business."
It can be concluded that it is possible to be him in conditions of totalitarianism. This was confirmed by A. Ya. Vyshinsky.
Dmitry Trofimovich Shepilov(February 27, 1956 - June 29, 1957)

Born into a family of a railway worker. After the family moved to Tashkent, he studied first at the gymnasium and then at the secondary school.
In 1926 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Faculty of Agriculture of the Institute of Red Professors.
Since 1926 - in the justice authorities, in 1926-1928 he worked as a prosecutor in Yakutia. Since 1929 - in scientific work. In 1933-1935 he worked in the political department of one of the Siberian state farms. After the publication of a number of notable articles, he was invited to the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Since 1935 - in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (Department of Science). According to Leonid Mlechin, at one of the meetings on science, Shepilov "allowed himself to object to Stalin." Stalin suggested that he back down, but Shepilov stood his ground, as a result of which he was expelled from the Central Committee and spent seven months without work.
Since 1938 - Scientific Secretary of the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
In the first days of the war, he volunteered for the front as part of the Moscow militia, although he had a “reservation” as a professor and the opportunity to go to Kazakhstan as the director of the Institute of Economics. From 1941 to 1946 - in the Soviet Army. He went from private to major general, head of the Political Department of the 4th Guards Army.
In 1956, Khrushchev succeeded in removing Molotov from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, putting his ally Shepilov in his place. On June 2, 1956, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Shepilov was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, replacing Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov in this post.
In June 1956, the Soviet Foreign Minister made the first ever tour of the Middle East, visiting Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and also Greece. During negotiations in Egypt with President Nasser in June 1956, he secretly agreed to the USSR to sponsor the construction of the Aswan Dam. At the same time, Shepilov, who was not an international professional by the nature of his previous activities, was impressed by the truly “pharaonic” reception that the then President of Egypt, Nasser, gave him, and upon his return to Moscow, managed to convince Khrushchev to speed up the establishment of relations with the Arab countries of the Middle East in counterweight to the normalization of relations with Israel. At the same time, it should be taken into account that during the Second World War, almost the entire political elite of the countries of the Middle East collaborated in one way or another with Nazi Germany, and Nasser himself and his brothers then studied at German higher military educational institutions.
He represented the position of the USSR on the Suez crisis and on the uprising in Hungary in 1956. He headed the Soviet delegation at the London Conference on the Suez Canal.
Contributed to the normalization of Soviet-Japanese relations: in October 1956, a joint declaration was signed with Japan, ending the state of war. The USSR and Japan exchanged ambassadors.
In his speech at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, he called for the forcible export of socialism outside the USSR. At the same time, he participated in the preparation of Khrushchev's report "On the cult of personality and its consequences", but the prepared version of the report was significantly changed.
Shepilov called for the forced export of socialism outside the USSR
When Malenkov, Molotov and Kaganovich in June 1957 tried to remove Khrushchev at a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, presenting him with a whole list of accusations, Shepilov suddenly also began to criticize Khrushchev for establishing his own "cult of personality", although he was never a member of the named group. As a result of the defeat of the Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich grouping at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU that followed on June 22, 1957, the wording "the anti-party group of Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich and Shepilov who joined them" was born. There is another, less literary and spectacular explanation of the origins of the wording using the word “joined”: a group that would consist of eight members would be embarrassing to call a “breakaway anti-party group”, since it turned out to be a clear majority, and this would be obvious even to Pravda readers. To be called "factional schismatics", the members of the group had to be no more than seven; Shepilov was the eighth.
It sounds more reasonable to assume that, unlike the seven members of the "anti-party group" - members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Shepilov was defined as "joining" because, as a candidate member of the Presidium, he did not have the right to a decisive vote in voting.
Shepilov was relieved of all party and government posts. Since 1957 - director, since 1959 - deputy director of the Institute of Economics of the Academy of Sciences of the Kirghiz SSR, in 1960-1982 - archeographer, then senior archeographer in the Main Archival Administration under the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
Since the cliché “and Shepilov who joined them” was actively exaggerated in the press, an anecdote appeared: “The longest surname is I who joined knimshepilov”; when a half-liter bottle of vodka was divided “for three”, the fourth drinking companion was nicknamed “Shepilov”, etc. Thanks to this phrase, millions of Soviet citizens recognized the name of the party functionary. Shepilov's own memoirs are polemically titled "Unjoined"; they are sharply critical of Khrushchev.
Shepilov himself, according to his memoirs, considered the case fabricated. He was expelled from the party in 1962, reinstated in 1976, and in 1991 reinstated in the USSR Academy of Sciences. Since 1982 - retired.
Died August 18, 1995. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Andrei Andreevich Gromyko(July 2, 1985 - October 1, 1988)

Of all the Russian and Soviet foreign ministers, only Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko served in this post for a legendaryly long term of twenty-eight years. His name was well known not only in the Soviet Union, but also far beyond its borders. The position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR made him famous all over the world.
The diplomatic fate of A. A. Gromyko developed in such a way that for almost half a century he was at the center of world politics, earned the respect of even his political opponents. In diplomatic circles, he was called "the patriarch of diplomacy", "the most informed foreign minister in the world." His legacy, despite the fact that the Soviet era is far behind, is still relevant today.
A. A. Gromyko was born on July 5, 1909 in the village of Starye Gromyki, Vetka district, Gomel region. In 1932 he graduated from the Institute of Economics, in 1936 - postgraduate studies at the All-Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Economics, Doctor of Economics (since 1956). In 1939 he was transferred to the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (NKID) of the USSR. By this time, as a result of repression, almost all the leading cadres of Soviet diplomacy had been destroyed, and Gromyko quickly began to make a career. In his incomplete 30 years, a native of the Belarusian hinterland with a Ph.D. It was an unusually steep rise, even for those times when careers were created and collapsed overnight. No sooner had the young diplomat settled in his new apartments on Smolenskaya Square than a summons to the Kremlin followed. Stalin, in the presence of Molotov, said: "Comrade Gromyko, we intend to send you to work at the USSR Embassy in the United States as an adviser." So, A. Gromyko for four years became an adviser to the embassy in the United States and at the same time an envoy to Cuba.
In 1946-1949. deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and at the same time in 1946-1948. fast. representative of the USSR to the UN, in 1949-1952. and 1953-1957 first deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, in 1952-1953. Ambassador of the USSR to Great Britain, in April 1957 Gromyko was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and worked in this post until July 1985. Since 1983, First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. In 1985-1988 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The diplomatic talent of Andrei Andreevich Gromyko was quickly noticed abroad. Andrei Gromyko's authority, recognized by the West, was of the highest standard. In August 1947, The Times magazine wrote: "As the permanent representative of the Soviet Union on the Security Council, Gromyko does his job at a level of breathtaking competence."
At the same time, with the light hand of Western journalists, Andrei Gromyko, as an active participant in the Cold War, became the owner of a whole series of unflattering nicknames like "Andrei Wolf", "robot misanthrope", "man without a face", "modern Neanderthal" etc. Gromyko became well known in international circles for his perpetually disgruntled and gloomy expression, as well as extremely uncompromising actions, for which he received the nickname "Mr. No." Regarding this nickname, A. A. Gromyko noted: “They heard my “no” much less often than I heard their “know”, because we put forward much more proposals. They called me “Mr. No” in their newspapers because I didn’t allow myself to be manipulated. Who aspired to this, wanted to manipulate the Soviet Union. We are a great power, and we will not allow anyone to do this!"
Due to his intransigence, Gromyko received the nickname "Mr. No"
However, Willy Brandt, the German Chancellor, noted in his memoirs: “I found Gromyko to be a more pleasant conversationalist than I imagined from the stories about the caustic “Mr. No”. He gave the impression of a correct and imperturbable person, restrained in a pleasant Anglo-Saxon manner. He knew how to make it clear in an unobtrusive way how much experience he has.
A. A. Gromyko strictly adhered to the approved position. “The Soviet Union in the international arena is me,” thought Andrei Gromyko. - All our successes in the negotiations, which led to the conclusion of important international treaties and agreements, are explained by the fact that I was firmly firm and even adamant, especially when I saw that they were talking to me, and therefore to the Soviet Union, from a position of strength or playing in cat and mouse. I have never fawned over the Westerners, and after I was beaten on one cheek, I did not substitute the other. Moreover, he acted in such a way that my excessively obstinate opponent would have a hard time.”
Many did not know that A. A. Gromyko had a delightful sense of humor. His remarks could include apt comments that came as a surprise at tense moments when receiving delegations. Henry Kissinger, coming to Moscow, was constantly afraid of listening to the KGB. Once, during a meeting, he pointed to a chandelier that hung in the room and asked the KGB to make a copy of American documents for him, since the copying equipment of the Americans was “out of order”. Gromyko answered him in a tone that chandeliers were made under the tsars and they could only have microphones.
Among the most important achievements, Andrei Gromyko singled out four points: the creation of the UN, the development of agreements on the limitation of nuclear weapons, the legalization of borders in Europe, and, finally, the recognition by the United States of the USSR as a great power.
Few people today remember that the UN was conceived in Moscow. It was here in October 1943 that the Soviet Union, the United States and Great Britain announced that the world needed an organization for international security. It was easy to declare, but difficult to do. Gromyko stood at the origins of the UN, under the Charter of this organization is his signature. In 1946, he became the first Soviet representative to the UN and at the same time deputy, and then first deputy minister of foreign affairs. Gromyko was a participant, and later the head of the delegation of our country at 22 sessions of the UN General Assembly.
The “question of questions”, “super task”, in the words of A. A. Gromyko himself, for him was the process of negotiations on control over the arms race, both conventional and nuclear. He went through all the stages of the post-war disarmament epic. Already in 1946, on behalf of the USSR, A. A. Gromyko proposed a general reduction and regulation of armaments and a ban on the military use of atomic energy. Gromyko considered the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Tests in the Atmosphere, Outer Space and Under Water, signed on August 5, 1963, negotiations on which had dragged on since 1958, to be a matter of special pride.
A. A. Gromyko considered the consolidation of the results of World War II to be another foreign policy priority. This is, first of all, the settlement around West Berlin, the formalization of the status quo with two German states, the FRG and the GDR, and then all-European affairs.
The historic agreements between the USSR (and then Poland and Czechoslovakia) and the FRG in 1970-1971, as well as the quadripartite agreement of 1971 on West Berlin, demanded tremendous strength, perseverance and flexibility from Moscow. How great the personal role of A. A. Gromyko in the preparation of these fundamental documents for peace in Europe can be seen at least from the fact that in order to develop the text of the Moscow Treaty of 1970, he held 15 meetings with the adviser to Chancellor W. Brandt E. Bahr and the same number with the minister Foreign Affairs V. Scheel.
It was they and previous efforts that cleared the way for détente and the convening of a Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The significance of the Final Act, signed in August 1975 in Helsinki, had a worldwide scale. It was, in essence, a code of conduct for states in key areas of relations, including the military-political one. The inviolability of post-war borders in Europe was consolidated, to which A. Gromyko attached particular importance, and prerequisites were created for strengthening European stability and security.
It was thanks to the efforts of A. A. Gromyko that all the i's between the USSR and the USA were dotted during the Cold War. In September 1984, at the initiative of the Americans, Andrei Gromyko met with Ronald Reagan in Washington. These were Reagan's first talks with a representative of the Soviet leadership. Reagan recognized the Soviet Union as a superpower. But even more significant was another statement. Let me recall the words spoken by the spokesman of the myth of the “evil empire” after the end of the meeting in the White House: “The United States respects the status of the Soviet Union as a superpower ... and we have no desire to change its social system.” Thus, Gromyko's diplomacy won the United States official recognition of the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of the Soviet Union.
Thanks to Gromyko, relations between the USSR and the USA were stabilized
Andrei Gromyko bore in his memory many facts forgotten by the broad circles of the international community. “You can imagine,” Andrey Gromyko told his son, “you are speaking, and not anyone, but the polished Macmillan, Prime Minister of Great Britain. Since it was at the height of the Cold War, he makes attacks on us. Well, I would say that the usual UN kitchen works, with all its political, diplomatic and propaganda tricks. I sit and think about how to respond to these attacks on occasion, during the debate. Suddenly, Nikita Sergeevich, who was sitting next to me, leans over and, as I first thought, is looking for something under the table. I even moved back a little so as not to disturb him. And suddenly I see - he pulls out a shoe and begins to beat it on the surface of the table. Frankly speaking, the first thought was that Khrushchev felt bad. But in a moment I realized that our leader was protesting in this way, seeking to embarrass Macmillan. I tensed up and, against my will, began to pound on the table with my fists - after all, it was necessary to somehow support the head of the Soviet delegation. I did not look in the direction of Khrushchev, I was embarrassed. The situation was really comical. And after all, what is surprising, you can make dozens of smart and even brilliant speeches, but in decades no one will remember the speaker, Khrushchev's shoe will not be forgotten.
As a result of almost half a century of practice, A. A. Gromyko developed for himself the “golden rules” of diplomatic work, which, however, are relevant not only for diplomats:
- it is absolutely unacceptable to immediately reveal all the cards to the other side, to want to solve the problem in one fell swoop;
- cautious use of summit meetings; ill-prepared, they do more harm than good;
- one should not allow oneself to be manipulated either with the help of rude or with the help of sophisticated means;
- For success in foreign policy, a real assessment of the situation is needed. It is even more important that this reality does not disappear anywhere;
- the most difficult thing is the consolidation of the real situation through diplomatic agreements, the international legal registration of a compromise;
- constant struggle for the initiative. In diplomacy, initiative is the best way to protect state interests.
A. A. Gromyko believed that diplomatic activity is hard work, requiring those who are engaged in it to mobilize all their knowledge and abilities. The task of a diplomat is "to fight to the end for the interests of his country, without prejudice to others." “To work across the entire range of international relations, to find useful links between seemingly separate processes,” this thought was a kind of constant in his diplomatic activity. "The main thing in diplomacy is a compromise, harmony between states and their leaders."
In October 1988 Andrei Andreevich retired and worked on his memoirs. He passed away on July 2, 1989. “The State, the Fatherland is us,” he liked to say. “If we don’t do it, no one will.”

Eduar Amvrosievich Shevarnadze(July 2, 1985 - December 20, 1990)

Born on January 25, 1928 in the village of Mamati, Lanchkhut region (Guria).
Graduated from the Tbilisi Medical College. In 1959 he graduated from the Kutaisi Pedagogical Institute. A. Tsulukidze.
Since 1946, in the Komsomol and party work. From 1961 to 1964 he was the first secretary of the district committee of the Communist Party of Georgia in Mtskheta, and then the first secretary of the Pervomaisky district party committee of Tbilisi. In the period from 1964 to 1972 - First Deputy Minister for the Protection of Public Order, then - Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia. From 1972 to 1985 - First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. In this position, he conducted a highly publicized campaign against the shadow market and corruption, which, however, did not lead to the eradication of these phenomena.
In 1985-1990 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, from 1985 to 1990 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 9-11 convocations. In 1990-1991 - People's Deputy of the USSR.
In December 1990, he resigned "in protest against the impending dictatorship" and left the CPSU the same year. In November 1991, at the invitation of Gorbachev, he again headed the USSR Foreign Ministry (at that time called the Ministry of Foreign Relations), but after the collapse of the USSR, this position was abolished a month later.
Shevardnadze was one of Gorbachev's associates in carrying out the perestroika policy
In December 1991, Minister of Foreign Relations of the USSR E. A. Shevardnadze was one of the first among the leaders of the USSR to recognize the Belovezhskaya Accords and the impending demise of the USSR.
E. A. Shevardnadze was one of M. S. Gorbachev’s associates in pursuing the policy of perestroika, glasnost and détente of international tension.

20. Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation 1992-2004. Personal status and political weight.

Ministers:

KOZYREV Andrey Vladimirovich (Appointed on October 11, 1990. Re-appointed on July 25, 1991, November 14, 1991, December 23, 1992. Released from office on January 5, 1996 in connection with his election as a deputy of the State Duma)

PRIMAKOV Evgeny Maksimovich (Appointed on January 9, 1996. Re-appointed on August 14, 1996 - IX.1998)

Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich

Sergey Lavrov was born on March 21, 1950 in Moscow. In 1972 he graduated from MGIMO. After graduation, he worked at the USSR Embassy in Sri Lanka. In 1976 - 1981 worked in the department of international economic organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the third, second secretary. In 1981 - 1988 - First Secretary, Advisor, Senior Advisor of the Permanent Mission of the USSR to the UN. In 1988 - 1990 - Deputy, First Deputy Head of the Department of International Economic Relations of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1990 - 1992 served as Director of the Department of International Organizations and global problems Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, in 1992 - 1994. - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs - Director of the Department of International Organizations and Global Problems. In 1994, he was appointed Russia's permanent representative to the UN, as well as to the Transport and Communications Council. On March 9, 2004, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was appointed to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in the Government of Mikhail Fradkov. In May 2004, after Vladimir Putin, elected for the next term, took office, he was again appointed to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. Chairman of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO (since April 2004).

Primakov Evgeny Maksimovich

President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation

Born October 29, 1929 in Kyiv. In 1953 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies, in 1956 - postgraduate studies at the Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov. 1956 - 1970 - Correspondent of the State Committee for Radio Broadcasting and Television, the newspaper "Pravda". 1970 - 1977. - Deputy Director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 1977 - 1985 - Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. 1985 - 1989 - Director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. 1989 - 1990 - Chairman of the Council of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the USSR. 1989 - 1990 - candidate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In 1991 - First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR - Head of the 1st Main Directorate. 1991 - 1996 - Director of the Central Intelligence Service of the USSR, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia. Since January 1996 - Minister of Foreign Affairs Russian Federation. In April 1998, after the resignation of the Chernomyrdin government, by presidential decree, he was appointed to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new Cabinet of Ministers. On August 23, 1998, Russian President Boris Yeltsin dismissed the Cabinet of Ministers headed by Sergei Kiriyenko. Viktor Chernomyrdin was appointed interim prime minister, whose candidacy failed twice in State Duma, September 10, 1998. The President submitted Yevgeny Primakov's candidacy for consideration by the Duma. On September 11, 1998, by resolution of the State Duma of the Russian Federation No. 2961-II GD of 09/11/1998 (СЗ RF, 1998, No. 38), he was approved as Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. Appointed by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1087 of September 11, 1998 (SZ RF, 1998, No. 37). On May 12, 1999, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was dismissed from the post of Prime Minister (Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 580 of May 12, 1999). In early August 1999, the media reported on the appointment of Yevgeny Primakov to the post of adviser on geopolitics to the Orenburg governor Vladimir Elagin. On August 17, 1999, Yevgeny Primakov officially announced his consent to head the Fatherland-All Russia electoral bloc. Together with Yuri Luzhkov, Vladimir Yakovlevon headed the federal list of the OVR. On December 17, 1999, on the eve of the parliamentary elections, Yevgeny Primakov officially confirmed for the first time his intention to run for the presidency of Russia in 2000. On December 19, 1999, he was elected a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the third convocation on the federal list of the Fatherland - All Russia electoral bloc. On January 18, 2000, at the first meeting of the State Duma, he was nominated by the Fatherland - All Russia faction as a candidate for the post of chairman of the Duma. Withdrew his candidacy. On February 4, 2000, Yevgeny Primakov, speaking on television, announced his refusal to participate in the presidential elections. In September 2001, he left the post of head of the OVR faction in the State Duma. In December 2001, he was elected President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.

Ivanov Igor Sergeevich

Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation

Igor Ivanov was born on September 23, 1945 in Moscow. In 1969 he graduated from the Maurice Thorez Moscow State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages ​​(since 1990 - Moscow State Linguistic University). Speaks Spanish and English. 1969 - 1973 - Junior Researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1973 - Second Secretary of the First European Department of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1973 - 1977 - Senior Engineer of the USSR Trade Representation in Madrid. 1977 - 1983 - First Secretary, Counselor, Counsellor-Envoy of the USSR Embassy in Spain. 1983 - 1984 - 1st class expert of the European Department of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1984 - 1985 - Advisor to the group under the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. 1985 - 1986 - Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. 1986 - 1989 - Deputy, First Deputy Head - Head of the Department of the General Secretariat of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1989 - 1991 - Head of the General Secretariat of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, member of the Collegium of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1991 - 1994 - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USSR to Spain, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Spain. Since January 1994 - First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, since January 1995 - Secretary of State - First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. On September 11, 1998, by presidential decree, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. On October 2, 1998, by presidential decree, he was included in the permanent membership of the Security Council. On May 12, 1999, he was dismissed as part of Primakov's cabinet. He entered the new government in his former capacity - Minister of Foreign Affairs. He retained this post in subsequent governments (Sergey Stepashin and Vladimir Putin). On May 18, 2000, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in the government of Mikhail Kasyanov. On February 24, 2004, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was dismissed as part of the Government of Mikhail Kasyanov. On March 9, 2004, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was appointed to the post of Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

Kozyrev Andrey Vladimirovich

Date of Birth

Place of Birth

Brussels (Belgium).

Citizenship

A citizen of Russian Federation.

Education

School:

Graduate School: In 1974 he graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a degree in International Relations.

Foreign languages: Fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese.

Vorontsov Alexander Romanovich(1741-1805) - Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1802-1804. He graduated from the Strasbourg military school. In 1761 - chargé d'affaires in Austria, in 1762-1764. - Minister Plenipotentiary in England, and then in Holland. Subsequently, he held a number of government posts not related to foreign policy(President of the Commerce Collegium, etc.). As a member of the State Council (from 1787) he was one of the leaders of Russia's foreign policy. Retired from 1792 to 1801. Since 1802 - State Chancellor. His main task considered ensuring the foreign policy independence of Russia from France. In early 1804 he retired for health reasons.

Czartoryski Adam Jerzy (Adam Adamovich)(1770-1861) - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia in 1804-1806. He belonged to one of the old aristocratic families in Poland. Since 1795 - in the Russian service. Soon - adjutant of the Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, one of his closest advisers. After the coup of 1801 - one of the members of the Unspoken Committee. Since 1802 - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. From 1804 - minister. By his own admission, his main task was to create the most favorable conditions for the restoration of Poland's independence. To this end, in 1805, he put forward a project of separating Polish lands from Prussia and Austria with the subsequent annexation of the former Polish territories that belonged to Russia. Alexander I was to become the Polish king, and a dynastic union was established between Russia and Poland. Alexander I did not reject this project, but the ensuing Russian-Prussian rapprochement made it impossible. This caused Czartoryski's resignation. In 1815 he became a member of the provisional government of the Kingdom of Poland. Soon left him. During the Polish uprising of 1830-1831. took over as chairman of the rebel government. After the defeat of the rebels, he left for Paris.

Budberg Andrei Yakovlevich(1750-1812) - Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1806-1807. He was known for his anti-French orientation. This largely explains his appointment as a minister during the period of maximum aggravation of relations between Russia and France. At his insistence, the Treaty of Paris signed with Napoleon in 1806 was not approved by the State Council. After the conclusion of the Tilsit peace with France, he resigned.

Rumyantsev Nikolay Petrovich(1754-1826) - Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1807-1814. He began his diplomatic service as Minister Plenipotentiary in Frankfurt am Main at the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire and the Electoral District of the Lower Rhine. During the French Revolution, he was an intermediary between Catherine II and the Bourbons. Under Paul I was in disgrace. From 1802 to 1808 he served as director of water communications and minister of commerce. His appointment as minister after the conclusion of the Treaty of Tilsit was supposed to demonstrate to Napoleon the benevolent attitude of Alexander I towards him. In an effort to find points of mutual interest between the two countries, Rumyantsev in 1808 negotiated with the French ambassador Caulaincourt on the conditions for dividing Turkey between the two countries. He was a supporter of rapprochement with France, even in the face of a new aggravation of relations with her. In 1809 he negotiated the Friedrichsham peace, for which he was awarded the title of Chancellor. With the outbreak of World War II, he asked for his resignation, but received it only after the defeat of France.

Veydemeyer Ivan Andreevich(1752-1820) - manager of the College of Foreign Affairs in 1814-1816. Active Privy Councillor. Member of the State Council (1810).

Nesselrode Karl Vasilievich(1780-1862) - Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1816-1856. diplomatic career began in 1801 as an official of the Russian mission in Berlin, from where he was soon transferred to The Hague, and then again to Berlin and Paris. With the outbreak of World War II, he was in the army, under Alexander I. After the resignation of Rumyantsev, he was appointed in 1814 as a rapporteur on foreign affairs, and in 1816 he was instructed to head the Foreign Ministry. After his dismissal in 1822, Kapodistrias became the sole head of the Foreign Ministry. According to contemporaries, he did not differ in penetrating mind and firm character. Broke all records of being the Minister of Foreign Affairs, holding it for 40 years. This was largely due to the fact that, not having his own line in foreign policy, Nesselrode was an excellent conductor of the ideas of the monarchs, for which he was sometimes called with a grin "Kissel-like". Nesselrode's biggest foreign policy mistake was an incorrect forecast of the reaction of the leading European countries to a possible war between Russia and Turkey in the early 1950s. He believed that no one would interfere with Russia. As a result, Russia found itself in international isolation and under attack not only from Turkey, but also from Britain and France, who came out on its side. Immediately after the conclusion of the Paris Peace Treaty, he was dismissed by Alexander II.

Kapodistrias John (John Kapo d "Istria)(1776-1831) - Second Secretary of State, Director of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1815-1822. Originally from Fr. Corfu. Graduated from the University of Padua. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the Ionian Republic. After the transfer of the protectorate over the Ionian Islands by Russia to Napoleon (1807), he transferred to the Russian service. The main task of Russia's foreign policy was the rejection of European possessions from Turkey and the creation of Christian states in the Balkans under the protectorate of Russia. To neutralize the Anglo-Austrian bloc formed after the Napoleonic wars, he proposed to develop allied relations between Russia and France. After resigning, he left for Geneva, and from there to Greece, where he was elected president. During the speeches provoked by England and France, he was killed on October 9, 1831.

Gorchakov Alexander Mikhailovich(1798-1883) - Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1856-1882. State Chancellor. Most Serene Prince. One of the greatest diplomats of the 19th century. The first diplomatic steps were taken by him as secretary of the embassy in London (1824), chargé d'affaires in Florence (1829), adviser to the embassy in Vienna (1832). As a representative to the German Confederation (since 1850), he sought to strengthen Russia's influence on the minor German states. He represented Russia at the Vienna Conference of 1855, where, in the conditions of Russia's military defeat in the Crimean War, he staked on the collapse of the Anglo-French alliance. To this end, he undertook separate negotiations with France, for which he was condemned by Minister Nesselrode. After the Paris Congress, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. His phrase from a directive to Russian ambassadors abroad is widely known: "They say Russia is angry. No, Russia is not angry, she is concentrating." Managed to drive a wedge into the anti-Russian coalition of European powers. The result of this course was the rejection of the enslaving articles of the Paris Peace immediately after the overthrow of Napoleon III. Gorchakov always opposed revolutionary upheavals (the revolution of 1848 in France, the Paris Commune, etc.). With the creation of the German Empire, he became more cautious in relations with Germany. He did not sympathize with the ideas of the "Union of Three Emperors" concluded by the heads of state of Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. In 1875, Gorchakov's diplomatic position saved France from new German aggression. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. took a vacillating position, believing that Russia was not yet ready to occupy Constantinople and the war could only lead to "half-peace." This position largely determined the decline in Gorchakov's popularity. In 1879, the management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs passed to Girs. In 1882 Gorchakov received a formal resignation.

Gire Nikolai Karlovich(1820-1895) - Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1882-1895. He began his service in the Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry. In 1850-1875. held various diplomatic posts in the Middle East, was an envoy to Switzerland and Sweden. Since 1875, he was the manager of the Asiatic Department, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Since 1879, he actually led the Foreign Ministry. In 1882 he officially replaced Gorchakov as minister. He believed that foreign policy is a means of strengthening the internal position of the monarchy. He was the ideologist of the "peaceful decade" of Alexander III. He saw the main means of preserving peace in strengthening the alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. The pro-German orientation of Girs affected the Balkan (especially Bulgarian) policy of Russia. Despite this, Giret was forced to ensure the Franco-Russian rapprochement, which Alexander III regarded as the most important tool for ensuring security in Europe.

Lobanov-Rostovsky Alexey Borisovich(1824-1896) - Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1895-1896. In the diplomatic service since 1844. Since 1863 he retired and lived in France. In 1878 he was appointed ambassador to Constantinople. Unlike Gorchakov, he believed that if Russia had to make any concessions, then they should be made in favor of Turkey in order to relieve tensions in relations with it. He acted as one of the developers of the Constantinople Peace Treaty of 1879. In 1879-1882. - Ambassador to London, in 1882-1895. - in Vienna. Became over the years one of the most influential ambassadors of Russia. In 1895 he was appointed ambassador to Berlin. After Giers' death, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was a supporter of shifting the center of gravity in Russia's foreign policy from Europe to the Far East. His first steps there brought success - Japan ceded to Russia the lease of the Liaodong Peninsula, and later an agreement was signed on the joint protectorate of Russia and Japan in Korea. However, it was precisely this activity of Russia that spurred Japan to start preparing for a war with it.

Shishkin Nikolai Pavlovich(1830-1902) - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia in 1896-1897. From 1852 he worked in the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1857 he was appointed to Paris, in 1859 - to Bucharest, in 1861 - to Adrianople, in 1863 - to Belgrade. Since 1875, Mr.. - Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the North American United States. Since 1880 - in the same post in Greece. From 1884 he was at the court of the king of Sweden and Norway. Valid Privy Councilor. Since 1891 - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Since January 14, 1895 - temporary manager of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since March 24, 1896 - Secretary of State of His Majesty. Headed the ministry in short period from August 19, 1896 to January 1, 1897. From 1897 - member of the State Council.

Muravyov Mikhail Nikolaevich(1845-1900) - Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1897-1900. He began his diplomatic service in 1864 in the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1867 he served in the Russian missions in Stuttgart, Stockholm, The Hague, Berlin, etc. After the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. was appointed counselor of the embassy in Paris, and in 1884 - in Berlin. Since 1893 - envoy in Copenhagen. On January 1, 1897 he was appointed head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and on April 13 of the same year - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia. Like Lobanov-Rostovsky, he believed that the center of gravity of Russia's foreign policy should be shifted to Far East. He concluded an agreement with Austria-Hungary on the observance of the status quo in the Balkans. He proposed to actively develop Russian expansion into Korea. Under him, Russian warships and troops entered Port Arthur and Dalniy. An agreement was concluded with China on the construction of the CER. In 1898, on behalf of Nicholas II, he proposed to convene an international conference on disarmament. He negotiated with Spain on the lease of Ceuta (Africa) by Russia to confront England. He stepped up Russian policy in the Near and Middle East at a time when England was occupied with the war with the Boers. As a result, Russia restored direct relations with Afghanistan and strengthened its positions in Persia and Turkey. He offered to build relations between Russia and China more carefully and carefully.