Almaz Ivanovich Ivanov (Алмаз (Ерофей) Иванович Иванов in Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

) (? – April 27 (N.S. May 7), 1669) was a Russian statesman

Statesman

A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...

.

From 1640 to 1646, Almaz Ivanov held the post of a dyak

Dyak (clerk)

Dyak is a historical Russian bureaucratic occupation whose meaning varied over time and approximately corresponded to the notions of "chief clerk" or "chief of office department"....

of the royal

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

 treasury

Treasury

A treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....

 (Казённый двор, or Kazyonniy dvor). In 1646, he was transferred to the Posolsky Prikaz (Посольский приказ, or Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Ivanov was appointed head of the Posolsky Prikaz in 1653 and remained on this post until 1667. He also managed the Pechatny Prikaz (Печатный приказ, or Stamp Office) between 1653 and 1669.

Ivanov played an important role in the government of tsar

Tsar

Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

 Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov

Alexis I of Russia

Aleksey Mikhailovich Romanov was the Tsar of Russia during some of the most eventful decades of the mid-17th century...

. He knew several languages and was a skillful diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

 and manager. In foreign affairs, Ivanov supported Russia's struggle against Poland

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

 and the cause for integration of the Russian lands in the south and west into a unified Russian state. Ivanov went to Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 in 1649 as a member of a diplomatic mission

Diplomatic mission

A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...

 and visited Poland on numerous occasions. Under Ivanov's supervision, they introduced a new Customs Charter in 1653, which unified customs duties.