Putin fires Russian Ambassador to US Anatoly Antonov

On Thursday, October 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to dismiss Anatoly Antonov from the post of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the United States. Antonov was also relieved of his duties on the position as Permanent Observer at Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS).

Reports about Antonov's resignation appeared on October 5. He returned to Moscow on October 6.

Antonov received death threats before resignation

Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov noted that Antonov had to work "in truly difficult conditions, when diplomatic relations between Russia and the United States were practically at zero."

According to Antonov himself, he received death threats in the US.

The former ambassador said that as the US presidential election was drawing near, it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to work in the States. In addition to threats, the former ambassador mentioned "demonstrations with provocative slogans and insults against the Russian leadership."

Former head of the diplomatic mission in Canada and director of the North American Department of the Foreign Ministry, Alexander Darchiev, may take Antonov's position.

"Currently, officials do not communicate with the Russian ambassador anyway, so by and large it doesn't matter who becomes the new representative in Washington," a source told The Vedomosti newspaper.

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Anatoly Ivanovich Antonov (born 15 May 1955) is a Russian military official and diplomat who is currently the Ambassador of Russia to the United States, formally replacing Sergey Kislyak on 21 August 2017 by presidential decree. With a reputation as a hardliner and tough negotiator, Antonov took up his post in Washington, D.C. on 1 September 2017. He was formerly Deputy Minister of Defence and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Since 2015, he has been under sanctions of the European Union and Canada, in response to Russia's military operation in Ukraine. He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.