| Post: | Ambassador |
| Body: | the Russian Federation to the Republic of Bulgaria |
| Incumbent: | Eleonora Mitrofanova |
| Insignia: | MID emblem.png |
| Incumbentsince: | 15 January 2021 |
| Department: | Ministry of Foreign Affairs Embassy of Russia in Sofia |
| Style: | His Excellency The Honourable |
| Reports To: | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Seat: | Sofia |
| Appointer: | President of Russia |
| Termlength: | At the pleasure of the President |
| Website: | Embassy of Russia in Bulgaria |
| Insigniacaption: | Emblem of the Russian Foreign Ministry |
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Bulgaria is the official representative of the President and the Government of the Russian Federation to the President and the Government of Bulgaria.[1]
The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Embassy of Russia in Sofia.[2] There are consulates general in Rousse and Varna.[3] [4] The post of Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria is currently held by Eleonora Mitrofanova, incumbent since 15 January 2021.[5]
See main article: Bulgaria–Russia relations. Diplomatic relations between the Russian Empire and the Principality of Bulgaria were established on 7 July 1879, in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, which established a de facto independent Bulgarian state. State Counselor was appointed "diplomatic agent and consul general in Bulgaria" on, and presented his credentials to Alexander of Battenberg on .[6] Bulgarian policy thereafter diverged from Russian interests, and after Bulgarian success in the Serbo-Bulgarian War in 1885, Russia compelled Alexander to abdicate the following year, and diplomatic relations were interrupted. They were restored in 1896.[6]
Diplomatic relations were again suspended on 6 October 1915, after Bulgaria's entry into the First World War on the side of the Central Powers. After the withdrawal of Russia from the war and the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918, diplomatic relations were nominally restored between the Russian government, now under Bolshevik leadership, and the Central Powers.[6] Stefan Chaproshikov was appointed to head the Bulgarian mission to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and was able to present his credentials to Yakov Sverdlov, Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets.[6] With the defeat of the Central Powers in 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was formally abrogated on 13 November 1918 by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, and diplomatic relations were again suspended.[6]
Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Bulgaria were established at the mission level in 1934, and continued during the Second World War, despite the fact the Bulgaria was nominally part of the Tripartite Pact alongside Germany, Italy and Japan.[6] On 5 September 1944, with the Red Army advancing towards the Balkans, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria. Bulgarian forces offered little resistance to the advancing Soviets, and the country was occupied. Relations between the Soviet Union and Bulgaria were restored in August 1945, and on 6 January 1946 an agreement was reached to upgrade the diplomatic missions into embassies.[6] With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet ambassador continued as representative of the Russian Federation.[6]
| Name | Title | Appointment | Termination | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diplomatic agent and consul general | 18 August 1878 | 26 April 1880 | ||
| Alexey Kumani | Diplomatic agent and consul general | 26 April 1880 | 29 March 1881 | |
| Diplomatic agent and consul general | 29 March 1881 | 2 March 1883 | ||
| Special representative | 1 August 1883 | March 1884 | ||
| Diplomatic agent | 25 February 1884 | 3 June 1886 | ||
| Diplomatic agent | 2 February 1886 | 9 November 1886 | ||
| Diplomatic agent | 1 February 1896 | 18 February 1897 | ||
| Georgiy Bakhmetev | Diplomatic agent | 18 February 1897 | 1905 | |
| Envoy | 1906 | 1907 | ||
| Envoy | 1907 | 1911 | ||
| Envoy | 1911 | 1913 | ||
| Envoy | 1913 | 1915 | ||
| Name | Title | Appointment | Termination | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fyodor Raskolnikov | Plenipotentiary | 31 August 1934 | 5 April 1938 | |
| Anatoly Lavrentiev | Plenipotentiary | 30 September 1939 | 14 June 1940 | |
| Plenipotentiary (before 9 May 1940) Envoy (after 9 May 1940) | 22 June 1940 | 1944 | ||
| Diplomatic representative | 1944 | 5 September 1944 | ||
| Envoy (until 6 January 1948) Then Ambassador | 22 August 1945 | 6 August 1948 | ||
| Mikhail Bodrov | Ambassador | 6 August 1948 | 28 January 1954 | |
| Ambassador | 28 January 1954 | 25 May 1960 | ||
| Ambassador | 25 May 1960 | 12 January 1963 | ||
| Nikolai Organov | Ambassador | 12 January 1963 | 12 April 1967 | |
| Alexander Puzanov | Ambassador | 12 April 1967 | 4 May 1972 | |
| Ambassador | 4 May 1972 | 8 May 1979 | ||
| Ambassador | 8 May 1979 | 10 July 1983 | ||
| Ambassador | 10 July 1983 | 26 February 1988 | ||
| Ambassador | 26 February 1988 | 25 December 1991 | ||
| Name | Title | Appointment | Termination | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambassador | 25 December 1991 | 22 April 1992 | ||
| Aleksandr Avdeyev | Ambassador | 28 July 1992 | 2 November 1996 | |
| Ambassador | 2 November 1996 | 31 December 1999 | ||
| Ambassador | 31 December 1999 | 25 May 2004 | ||
| Ambassador | 25 May 2004 | 14 July 2008 | ||
| Ambassador | 14 July 2008 | 17 August 2016 | ||
| Ambassador | 17 August 2016 | 15 January 2021 | ||
| Eleonora Mitrofanova | Ambassador | 15 January 2021 | ||