Diplomatic relations between Russia and France
Russian Empire
August 5, 1717 – Establishment of diplomatic relations
1733 – Diplomatic relations broken off, War of the Polish Succession War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...  begins
1738 – Restoration of diplomatic relations, War of the Polish Succession War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...  ends
1748 – Diplomatic relations broken off, Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession following a congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen—Aix-la-Chapelle in French—in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...  ends War of the Austrian Succession War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession  – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
1755 – Restoration of diplomatic relations
1756 - Diplomatic Revolution Diplomatic Revolution The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 is a term applied to the reversal of longstanding diplomatic alliances which were upheld until the War of the Austrian Succession and then reversed in the Seven Years' War; the shift has also been known as "the great change of partners"... , alliance for Seven Years' War Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
1799–1800 – War of the Second Coalition War of the Second Coalition The "Second Coalition" was the second attempt by European monarchs, led by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Russian Empire, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary France. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests...
1800 – Restoration of diplomatic relations
August 28, 1804 – Diplomatic relations broken off, War of the Third Coalition
June 26, 1807 – Restoration of diplomatic relations, Treaty of Tilsit Treaties of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by Napoleon I of France in the town of Tilsit in July, 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon I of France, when they met on a raft in the middle of the Neman...
1812 – Diplomatic relations severed, French invasion of Russia French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
May 18, 1814 – Restoration of diplomatic relations, Treaty of Paris (1815) Treaty of Paris (1815) Treaty of Paris of 1815, was signed on 20 November 1815 following the defeat and second abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte. In February, Napoleon had escaped from his exile on Elba; he entered Paris on 20 March, beginning the Hundred Days of his restored rule. Four days after France's defeat in the...
January 23, 1854 – Diplomatic relations severed, Crimean War Crimean War The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
March 18, 1856 – Restoration of diplomatic relations, Treaty of Paris (1856) Treaty of Paris (1856) The Treaty of Paris of 1856 settled the Crimean War between Russia and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, Second French Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The treaty, signed on March 30, 1856 at the Congress of Paris, made the Black Sea neutral territory, closing it to all...
August 21, 1891 – Franco-Russian Alliance Franco-Russian Alliance The Franco-Russian Alliance was a military alliance between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire that ran from 1892 to 1917. The alliance ended the diplomatic isolation of France and undermined the supremacy of the German Empire in Europe...
1904 – Triple Entente Triple Entente The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....  formed
Soviet Union
October 26, 1917 – October Revolution October Revolution The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917... , diplomatic relations severed
October 28, 1924 – Diplomatic relations established
November 29, 1932 – Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance The Franco–Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was a bilateral pact between the two countries with the aim of containing Nazi Germany's aggression in 1935. It was pursued by Louis Barthou, who was the French Foreign Minister but he was assassinated before negotiations were finished...
June 30, 1941 – Diplomatic relations severed, Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
October 23, 1944 – Restoration of diplomatic relations
Russian Federation
February 7, 1992 – France recognizes the Russian Federation as successor to the USSR

Russian-French contacts

France–Russia relations

France–Russia relations date back to the early modern period.-History:France–Russia relations date back to early modern period, with sporadic contact even earlier, when both countries were ruled by absolutist monarchies, the Kingdom of France and the Tsardom of Russia...

 began on August 5, 1717, when the first Russian ambassador, sent by Tsar Peter I of Russia, presented his credentials to King Louis XV of France

Louis XV of France

Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...

. France responded by sending its first ambassador to Russia, Jacques Kompredon, in September 1721. Since then, relations were fairly constant between the two countries, although they were severed and restored many times. Overall, relations between France and Russia have been very close, and French was even considered the unofficial second language of Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Relations between the two countries were severed in 1733 with the start of the War of the Polish Succession

War of the Polish Succession

The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...

 and resumed in 1738. Poor relations between the revolutionary government of France and the Russian Monarchy led to relations being severed in 1792. The Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

 marked the start of new conflicts between Russia and France, which were not restored until the conclusion of the War of the Second Coalition

War of the Second Coalition

The "Second Coalition" was the second attempt by European monarchs, led by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Russian Empire, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary France. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests...

 between Russia and France in 1800. The War of the Third Coalition in 1805 led to the disruption of diplomatic relations once again, which were not restored until the signing of the Treaty of Paris

Treaty of Paris (1815)

Treaty of Paris of 1815, was signed on 20 November 1815 following the defeat and second abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte. In February, Napoleon had escaped from his exile on Elba; he entered Paris on 20 March, beginning the Hundred Days of his restored rule. Four days after France's defeat in the...

 on November 20, 1815. Russia and France conflicted over different views following the Revolutions of 1848

Revolutions of 1848

The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...

 and the French support of revolutions in multinational countries. This led to the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

 on March 27, 1854, which ended with a Russian defeat on March 30, 1856. Relations between the two countries improved after that, and remained uninterrupted until the October Revolution

October Revolution

The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...

.

French Prime Minister Édouard Herriot

Édouard Herriot

Édouard Marie Herriot was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister and for many years as President of the Chamber of Deputies....

 sent a telegram to Alexey Rykov, the President of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, on October 26, 1924, informing him of the French recognition of the establishment of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. When Germany declared war on the Soviet Union

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...

 on June 30, 1941, the Vichy France

Vichy France

Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...

 government broke off diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Relations were reestablished on October 23, 1944, with the Soviet recognition of the new Provisional Government of the French Republic. Since then, relations between the new nations remained unbroken, although they were cold at times during the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...

, relations with France and the new Russian Federation were warm, and France recognized Russia as the successor of the USSR on February 7, 1992. The current Russian ambassador to France is Alexander Konstantinovich Orlov.

Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the Kingdom of France

Kingdom of France

The Kingdom of France was one of the most powerful states to exist in Europe during the second millennium.It originated from the Western portion of the Frankish empire, and consolidated significant power and influence over the next thousand years. Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, developed a...

 

Name	Photo	Title	Date from	Date until
Grigory Ivanovich Volkov		Charge D'Affaires	July 1, 1711	October 1712
Ivan Isaevich Lefort		Charge D'Affaires	1716	1717
Hans Christoph Shleynits		Envoy	August 9, 1717	1720
Vasily Lukich Dolgorukoff		Envoy	September 25, 1720	March 16, 1722
Alexander Kurakin Alexander Kurakin Prince Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, sometimes spelled Kourakine was a Russian statesman and diplomat, a member of the State Council , ranked Actual Privy Counsellor 1st Class ....		Ambassador	May 4, 1722	1724
Boris Kurakin Boris Kurakin Prince Boris Ivanovich Kurakin was the first permanent Russian ambassador abroad, and one of the closest associates of Peter the Great...		Ambassador	1724	October 17, 1727
Alexander Kurakin Alexander Kurakin Prince Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, sometimes spelled Kourakine was a Russian statesman and diplomat, a member of the State Council , ranked Actual Privy Counsellor 1st Class ....		Ambassador	October 17, 1727	July 11, 1728
Alexander Golovkin Gavrilovic		Envoy	1729	1731
Sergei Khristoforovich Minich		Charge D'Affaires	July 1731	1733
Antiokh Kantemir		Envoy	April 18, 1738	December 11, 1738
Antiokh Kantemir		Ambassador	December 11, 1738	September 24, 1742
Antiokh Kantemir		Envoy	September 24, 1742	March 31, 1744
Alexei Gross		Chargé d'Affaires	March 31, 1744	1745
Alexei Gross		Envoy	1745	June 1748
Fedor Behteev		Charge D'Affaires	1756	July 11, 1757
Mikhail Petrovich Bestuzhev-Rumin		Ambassador	August 10, 1756	February 26, 1760
Peter Chernyshev		Ambassador	July 4, 1760	July 26, 1762
Sergei Vasilievich Saltykov Serge Saltykov Count Sergei Vasilievich Saltykov was a Russian officer who became the first lover of Empress Catherine the Great after her arrival to Russia....		Ambassador	1762	August 1763
Dmitry Golitsyn		Ambassador	1762	1768
Nikolai Konstantinovich Khotyn		Chargé d'Affaires	1767	1774
Ivan Baryatinskiy		Ambassador	August 1773	1785
Ivan Matveevich Simolin		Ambassador	March 14, 1784	September 19, 1799
Source: Diplomats of the Russian Empire- France

Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the First French Empire

First French Empire

The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...

 

Name	Photo	Title	Date from	Date until
Stepan Alexeevich Kolychev		Ambassador	1800	July 1, 1801
Arkady Ivanovich Morkov		Ambassador	July 1, 1801	October 26, 1803
Peter Yakovlevich Ubri		Chargé d'Affaires	November 15, 1803	August 28, 1804
Petr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy		Ambassador	August 31, 1807	October 19, 1808
Grigory Ivanovich Gagarin		Charge d'Affaires	October 1808	November 1808
Alexander Kurakin Alexander Kurakin Prince Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, sometimes spelled Kourakine was a Russian statesman and diplomat, a member of the State Council , ranked Actual Privy Counsellor 1st Class ....		Ambassador	October 19, 1808	November 10, 1812
Source: Diplomats of the Russian Empire- France

Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the Kingdom of France

Name	Photo	Title	Date from	Date until
Carl Osipovich Pozzo di Borgo Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo Carlo Andrea, count Pozzo di Borgo , was a Corsican politician who became a Russian diplomat.He was born at Alata, near Ajaccio, of a noble Corsican family, four years before the island became a French possession...		Envoy	April 1, 1814	February 17, 1821
Carl Osipovich Pozzo di Borgo Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo Carlo Andrea, count Pozzo di Borgo , was a Corsican politician who became a Russian diplomat.He was born at Alata, near Ajaccio, of a noble Corsican family, four years before the island became a French possession...		Ambassador	February 17, 1821	January 5, 1835
Peter Palen		Ambassador	March 11, 1835	April 8, 1841
Nicholas Kiselev		Chargé d'Affaires	October 30, 1841	April 8, 1851
Source: Diplomats of the Russian Empire- France

Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the French Second Empire 

Name	Photo	Title	Date from	Date until
Nicholas Kiselev		Envoy	January 6, 1853	January 23, 1854
Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov Pavel Kiselyov Count Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov or Kiseleff is generally regarded as the most brilliant Russian reformer during Nicholas I's generally conservative reign.- Early military career :...		Ambassador	July 11, 1856	September 15, 1862
Andrew Budberg		Ambassador	November 3, 1862	April 10, 1868
Ernest Gustavovich Stackelberg Ernest Stackelberg Count Ernst Johann von Stackelberg was a Baltic German military figure and diplomat.After having received home education, Ernest Stackelberg entered military service in 1832 as a feuerwerker in Leib Guard horse artillery. In 1833, he was promoted to junker and then warrant officer a year later...		Ambassador	April 25, 1868	April 30, 1870
Philip Brunnov		Ambassador	May 21, 1870	November 28, 1870
Source: Diplomats of the Russian Empire- France

Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the French Third Republic

French Third Republic

The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...

 

Name	Photo	Title	Date from	Date until
Nikolay Orlov Nikolay Orlov -References:...		Ambassador	December 11, 1871	February 8, 1884
Arthur Morengeym		Ambassador	February 8, 1884	November 18, 1897
Lev Urusov Lev Urusov Prince Lev Vladimirovich Urusov was a Russian diplomat. From 1910 till his death he was a member of International Olympic Committee.Lev Urusov was born in the family of State Councillor and Chamberlain Vladimir Pavlovich Urusov. In 1898 he graduated from Alexandrovski Lyceum in Saint Petersburg...		Ambassador	November 19, 1897	1904
Aleksandr Nelidov Aleksandr Nelidov Aleksandr Nelidov — Russian diplomat.- Biography :Studied law and Oriental languages in St. Petersburg University. Entered diplomatic service in 1855. Secretary to the Russian embassies at Athens, Munich and Vienna....		Ambassador	1904	September 5, 1910
Alexander Izvolsky		Ambassador	1910	March 3, 1917
Source: Diplomats of the Russian Empire- France

Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to the Republic of France

Name	Photo	Title	Date from	Date until
Leonid Borisovich Krasin Leonid Krasin Leonid Borisovich Krasin July 1870, Kurgan – November 24, 1926) was a Russian and Soviet Bolshevik politician and diplomat.-Early years:Krasin was born in Kurgan, near Tobol'sk in Siberia. His father, Boris Ivanovich Krasin was the local chief of police...		Plenipotentiary	November 14, 1924	October 30, 1925
Christian Rakovsky Christian Rakovsky Christian Rakovsky was a Bulgarian socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and Soviet diplomat; he was also noted as a journalist, physician, and essayist...		Plenipotentiary	October 30, 1925	October 21, 1927
Valerian Savel'evich Dovgalevsky		Plenipotentiary	October 21, 1927	July 14, 1934
Vladimir Petrovich Potemkin		Plenipotentiary	November 25, 1934	April 4, 1937
Jacob Surits		Plenipotentiary	April 4, 1937	March 29, 1940
Alexander Efremovich Bogomolov		Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	October 23, 1944	March 25, 1950
Alexei Pavlovich Pavlov		Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	April 25, 1950	July 7, 1953
Sergey Vinogradov		Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	July 7, 1953	March 24, 1965
Valerian Aleksandrovich Zorin Valerian Zorin Valerian Alexandrovich Zorin was a Soviet diplomat and statesman.-Biography:After joining the Soviet Communist Party in 1922, Zorin held a managerial position in a Moscow City Committee and the Central Committee of the Komsomol until 1932...		Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	March 24, 1965	September 18, 1971
Peter Abrasimov		Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	September 18, 1971	April 9, 1973
Stepan Chervonenko Stepan Chervonenko Stepan Vasilievich Chervonenko was the Soviet ambassador to Peking in 1961 and Czechoslovakia in 1968 . Chervonenko is known for his role in suppressing the Prague Spring of 1968. Spouse Людмила Сергеевна Чиколини , a historian.-References:...		Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	May 3, 1973	January 20, 1983
Yuli Vorontsov		Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	January 20, 1983	June 19, 1986
James Ryabov		Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	June 19, 1986	May 23, 1990
Yuri Dubinin		Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	1990	1991
Source: Reference History of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union

Ambassadors of the Russian Federation to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 

Name	Photo	Title	Date from	Date until
Yuri Ryzhov		Ambassador	1992	1998
Nikolai Nikolaevich Afanasievsky		Ambassador	1999	2002
Alexander Avdeev Alexander Alexeyevich Avdeyev Alexander Alexeyevich Avdeyev is a Russian politician and diplomat. He is minister of Culture of the Russian Federation since 2008.From 2002 to 2007 he was Ambassador of the Russian Federation to France.- External links :* *...		Ambassador	February 21, 2002	March 16, 2007
Alexander Konstantinovich Orlov		Ambassador	October 14, 2008
Source: