Contact between Australia and the Russian Empire began in the 1800s with the visit of the Neva to Sydney, then part of the British-administered Colony of New South Wales. Consular relations began in 1857. Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the Commonwealth of Australia were formally established on 10 October 1942.[4] The first envoy, Andrey Vlasov [ru], was appointed on 13 October 1942.[4] Representation was upgraded to the exchange of ambassadors after 1948.[4] On 4 April 1954 the ambassador, Nikolai Generalov [ru], was recalled to Moscow in the wake of the Petrov Affair. Diplomatic representation was thereafter suspended until 3 March 1959, when an agreement was made to exchange ambassadors. Ivan Kurdyukov was appointed on 23 June 1959, and presented his credentials on 10 August 1959.[4] With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet ambassador, Vyacheslav Dolgov, continued as representative of the Russian Federation until 1993.[4]
List of representatives (1942 – present)
Representatives of the Soviet Union to the Commonwealth of Australia (1942 – 1991)
