Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiev, has died at 66, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. His death removes the sitting envoy from a post he had held only since early 2025.
The ministry called Darchiev an outstanding diplomat, an experienced leader, a kind colleague and mentor, and said he was a professional of the highest order and a brilliant expert on American affairs. It did not say what caused his death.
Darchiev replaced Anatoly Antonov in early 2025 after years spent moving through the same diplomatic lane. He had worked at Russia’s Embassy in Washington in the late 2000s, later spent six years as Russia’s ambassador to Canada and then headed the ministry’s North American Department for four years.
His appointment came after Donald Trump returned to the White House, during a sudden thaw in relations between Moscow and Washington. Even then, observers said he was not likely to wield much influence, and that view now sits alongside a simple fact: the Kremlin has not immediately commented on his passing, and U.S. officials had also not issued statements at the time of the report.
That leaves the immediate question of succession unanswered, with no public word yet on who will take over Russia’s Embassy in Washington. For now, the diplomatic channel he was meant to lead has lost the man chosen to run it before his tenure had much time to take shape.
