Alexander Darchiev, Russian ambassador to Washington, has died

He died suddenly Alexander Darchiev, Russian ambassador to the United States since March 2025. He was 66 years old. The news was announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which did not provide details on the causes of death. A veteran diplomat, Darchiev had spent much of his career dealing with relations between Moscow and Washington, holding numerous senior positions at the Foreign Ministry and in Russian diplomatic missions in North America.

Darchiev “passed away suddenly”, we read in the note from the Foreign Ministry, which defines him as an “exceptional professional”. “Alexander Darchiev served in one of the most challenging areas of Russian foreign policy,” the statement continued. “We express our deepest and sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Alexander Darchiev.”

◾️ The Russian Foreign Ministry announces with profound sorrow that Alexander Darchiev, Ambassador of Russia to the USA, passed away suddenly on November 11, aged 66. The cherished memory of our colleague will forever remain in our hearts. https://t.co/YKgRc2yuZk https://t.co/bBLu9zMAe1

— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) November 11, 2026

Chi era Alexander Darchiev

Born on May 14, 1960 in Hungarywhere his father served as a Soviet diplomat, Darchiev graduated in 1983 with a degree in history from Lomonosov Moscow State University. He had subsequently worked as a researcher at the Institute of the United States and Canada of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, specializing in American politics. In 1987 he received a doctorate with a thesis on left-liberal forces in the political and social life of the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.

Having entered the Russian diplomatic service in 1992, he had held various positions in the North America department of the Foreign Ministry. Between 1997 and 2002 he worked as a counselor at the Russian embassy in Washington, where he returned between 2005 and 2010 as counselor-minister.

From 2010 to 2014 he directed the North America Department of the Russian Foreign Ministrybefore being appointed ambassador to Canada, a position he held until January 2021. Upon returning to Moscow, he resumed leadership of the department until his subsequent appointment in the United States. The President Vladimir Putin appointed him ambassador to Washington on March 6, 2025after the diplomatic post had been vacant for around five months, following the departure of predecessor Anatoly Antonov in October 2024.