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#HistoryOfDiplomacy 🇺🇳On April 25, 1945, the San Francisco Conference officially commenced – one of the key diplomatic events of the 20th century, which laid the foundations for the post-war world order and the modern system of international relations. In the spring of 1945, the war against the Nazis in Europe was nearing its end, #Victory was within grasp. The Red Army was already fighting on the approaches to Berlin, crushing the last pockets of resistance by Hitler’s fanatics, while Allied forces were pressing the enemy from the west. Only a few weeks remained before the final defeat of Nazi Germany and its satellites. A fundamental question arose: would the USSR, the US and the UK be able to preserve the spirit of allied cooperation and continue coordinated work on key international issues after #WWII? At the initiative of Moscow,Washington, London, and Beijing, it was decided to convene a conference tasked with laying the groundwork for a future universal international organisation and agreeing on the main provisions of its Charter. On March 5, 1945, invitations were sent to 42 states that had signed the Declaration by United Nations on January 1, 1942. During the Conference, they were joined by representatives of another eight countries that had entered the war against Germany and Japan. *** Among the Heads of delegations: 🇷🇺Vyacheslav Molotov(People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR) → Andrey Gromyko (Soviet Ambassador to the US) 🇺🇸Edward Stettinius (US Secretary of State) 🇬🇧Anthony Eden (British Foreign Secretary) → the Earl of Halifax (British Ambassador to the US) and many others. *** The San Francisco Conference was record-breaking in scale for international forums of the time: 282 delegates, over 1,500 experts and advisers – around 3,500 participants in total. Its work was also followed by more than 2,500 representatives of the press, radio and television, as well as observers from public organisations. Unlike pre-war international conferences, the work in San Francisco was officially conducted in five languages: English, French, Russian, Chinese and Spanish. This marked the recognition of Russian as one of the key languages of international diplomacy. From May 2 to June 20, 1945, the working committees prepared the text of the UN Charter. Work on it was divided among four commissions: • The first dealt with the general purposes and principles of the Organisation, membership, the Secretariat and the procedure for amending the Charter; • The second discussed the powers of the General Assembly; • The third worked through provisions concerning the UN Security Council; • The fourth focused on the draft Statute of the International Court of Justice. The work proceeded on the basis of proposals prepared at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in 1944. Soviet diplomacy succeeded in defending a number of fundamental positions: ✔️ incorporating provisions into the UN Charter on the need to settle and resolve international disputes by peaceful means; ✔️ enshrining in the Charter the voting procedure in the UN Security Council, agreed earlier at the Yalta Conference; ✔️ including the Belorussian and Ukrainian SSRs among the founding members of the UN. The culmination of the San Francisco Conference – after lengthy debates and the overcoming of numerous differences – came on June 26, 1945, with the solemn signing of two historic documents: the Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the International Court of Justice. 🌐 Thus, the legal and institutional foundations of the United Nations were established. The post-war world still faced new challenges – the confrontation of irreconcilable ideologies and superpowers that had only recently been Allies, the arms race and the threat of the use of nuclear weapons. Yet it was in the spring of 1945, on the shores of San Francisco, that the UN was born as a space for diplomacy, negotiations and the search for mutually beneficial solutions in the interests of all humanity. #UNCharterIsOurRules

#HistoryOfDiplomacy 📜 They say diplomacy has been a male-only profession. While in reality women have had a major role in foreign policy throughout history. In fact, diplomacy acquired a female dimension as early as in the 10th century when Princess Olga established ties with the Byzantine Empire. In the 18th century, for almost half a century, during the reigns of Elizabeth (Yelizaveta) Petrovna, Anna of Russia (Anna Ioannovna), and Cathrine the Great, women largely defined Russia’s foreign policy. They performed their diplomatic duties by corresponding not only with foreign monarchs, but also with the leading thinkers of their time. However, diplomatic service remained mostly dominated by men for quite a long time with very few women in official diplomatic roles until the 20th century. In this context, the story of our country’s first female ambassador, Alexandra #Kollontai, has special significance, and was also revolutionary. 📅 Born on March 31, 1872, Alexandra Kollontai benefited from homeschooling and was brilliantly educated. She became fluent in French, German, English and Finnish, and since a young age took a keen interest in social and political matters, with Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Alexander Herzen and Western socialists among her favourite authors. Already a prominent member of the revolutionary movement, after the 1917 October Revolution, Alexandra Kollontai was appointed the People's Commissar for Welfare of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to become the world’s first female minister. ☝️ Kollontai was proactive in fighting for women’s rights and championed their economic empowerment, access to education and marital equality. It is thanks to her that expecting mothers obtained a leave from work during pregnancy and childbirth. She also was the one who initiated the effort to create a network of nurseries and kindergartens. In 1922, Alexander Kollontai was appointed Soviet Minister Plenipotentiary to Norway, which created an international sensation. Before that, not a single European country offered a woman the possibility to have a high diplomatic rank of this kind. During her assignment to Norway, Alexandra Kollontai succeeded in securing the recognition of the Soviet state by Norway. It is on her watch that the two countries signed a trade agreement and organised the delivery of 400,000 tonnes of Norwegian herring to the USSR. Kollontai continued her successful diplomatic career in Sweden where she served as USSR’s Plenipotentiary Ambassador and Envoy from 1930 to 1945, and helped improve the USSR’s relations with Sweden. ❗️ It was in September 1944 that Kollontai, already 72 years old, received a mission to make Finland withdraw from the war. She was to play one of the key roles during the talks. On September 19, 1944, Finland signed the Moscow Truce with the Soviet Union after cancelling its alliance with Germany and agreeing to a series of territorial concessions. 💬 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovmade the following statement on this stage in her career during the ceremony to unveil Alexandra Kollontai’s memorial plaque: One of the real achievements of this remarkable woman was that she took part in negotiations that led to Finland’s withdrawal from the war in 1944, which helped free up troops and send them to other fronts, saving lives of many Soviet soldiers. As a diplomat, Alexandra Kollontai focused on understanding people and their motives instead of just living by the protocol. She stood out for her humane attitude and flexibility, and the ability to find compromises even in the tensest situations. Alexandra Kollontai has proven that women can succeed as diplomats even in a conservative international environment. She came to symbolise the way the social status of women evolved in the world, and inspired many generations of women to become diplomats.

#InMemoryOfDiplomats#InMemoriam 🗓 On March 18, 1856, an outstanding diplomat, Aleksander Izvolsky, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire in 1906-1910, was born in Moscow. In 1875, he graduated from the famous Alexandrosvky Lyceum and entered service in the Chancellery of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 📍 In 1876, Izvolsky was appointed to the Russian mission in Rome. He subsequently worked at theConsulate General in Eastern Rumelia (an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire, effectively under Bulgarian control), as well as at the Embassies in Romania and the United States. From 1894 to 1897, he served as Minister-Resident to the Holy See; from 1897 to 1906, he was envoy to Serbia, Bavaria, Japan, and Denmark. In 1906, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. Izvolsky regarded the main task of foreign policy as stabilizing the country’s international position, restoring its military and political potential, and concluding bilateral agreements with the great powers. In a report to Emperor Nicholas II on negotiations with European statesmen dated November 6, 1907, the Minister noted: “Russia’s temporary weakening in the international arena, as a result of the revolutionary movement and the diversion of our military forces to the Far Eastern war, has exposed the European balance to very serious dangers and has led to a regrouping of powers dangerous for the preservation of general peace.” Izvolsky secured the signing of the Anglo-Russian and Russo-Japanese agreements, which delineated spheres of influence between Russia and Britain in Central Asia and with Japan in the Far East. He also sought to intensify Russia’s policy in the Balkans and to change the status of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. In 1910, he continued his diplomatic service as Ambassador to France. Recognizing the inevitability of a pan-European war, he contributed to the political and military consolidation of the Entente both on the eve of and during the First World War. A year after his resignation, in July 1911, he wrote to Pyotr Stolypin: “I can say in good conscience that I placed Russia in more advantageous conditions than those in which it stood before me, provided it with all the points of support that could be found, and safeguarded it from all contingencies in the Far and Middle East.” #HistoryOfDiplomacy

📜On March 3, 1878, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed in a suburb of Constantinople, recording our country’s victory in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Under the terms of the Treaty, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro gained full independence, while Bulgaria, which had been under Ottoman rule for nearly 500 years (!), was granted broad autonomy. The date of the signing of the Treaty of San Stefano became a national holiday in Bulgaria – the Day of Liberation from Ottoman Rule. The victory of the Russian forces in the war against the Ottoman Empire and the conclusion of the Treaty laid the foundation for future constructive cooperation between Russia and Bulgaria. For a long time, relations between our countries developed steadily and progressively. #HistoryOfDiplomacy: A key role in the conclusion of the Treaty of San Stefano was played by the distinguished Russian diplomat and statesman Nikolai Ignatyev, who for more than ten years served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire, and signed the Treaty on behalf of Russia. * * * 🇷🇺🇧🇬Today, Russian-Bulgarian relations have been virtually reduced to zero. The current government is pursuing an openly Russophobic policy, continuing to dismantle the foundations of bilateral cooperation. Unfortunately, this also affects the way historical events are presented in the local media landscape. 💬Ambassador of Russia to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova: “In recent years, the chronicle of the Liberation has been ruthlessly rewritten. Alleged ‘imperial ambitions’ of Russia are brought to the forefront, while nothing is said about the truly nationwide movement in defence of our enslaved Bulgarian brothers, which played a decisive role in the decision of Emperor Alexander II to declare war on the Ottoman Empire.” Excerpts from the congratulatory message by Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova on the occasion of Bulgaria’s national holiday, the Day of Liberation from Ottoman Rule, March 3, 2026. ☝️We recall that 100,000 Russian soldiers gave their lives for the freedom of the peoples of the Balkans, including Bulgaria. #RussiaBulgaria

#HistoryOfDiplomacy#DiplomatsDay 🌐Ahead of Russia's Diplomatic Workers’ Day, a new section dedicated to the history of Russian diplomacy has been launched on the MFA Russia website. Russia's Foreign Ministry continues its efforts to preserve the memory and legacy of the heads of Russia’s foreign service. The in-depth historical overview covers the key milestones and guiding principles that have shaped – and continue to shape – Russian foreign policy, as well as historical figures who guided its evolution. This is not merely a history of negotiations, but a reflection of Russia’s millennia-long path as an independent and distinct civilization By preserving its traditions, Russia’s diplomatic service consistently explains Russia’s stance on the international stage, counters the West’s aggressive campaign and contributes to forming an objective picture of the world. The publication of such materials holds a special importance today, when the countries of the so-called “collective West” are using every possible means to downplay the contribution of Russian diplomats to the geopolitical transformation of the world. Achievements are rewritten, outcomes and key facts distorted – all for short-term gain. ❗️We proudly remember our history. And we will continue to stand up for the truth. 👉We invite everyone to explore the history of Russian diplomacy in greater detail.

#HistoryOfDiplomacy 🗓 On February 4, 1945, the Yalta Conference of the Leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition — Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt — officially commenced. The #YaltaConference stands as one of the most significant summits of the 'Big Three' Leaders during #WW2. The landmark talks in Yalta came to symbolise the successful cooperation of Moscow, Washington, and London in their common fightagainst the terrible evil the mankind had ever faced —the Nazi ideology. The historic agreements reached at the Forum defined the foundations of the post-war Yalta-Potsdam system of international relations, whose legal basis would be the #UNCharter. 💬 Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova: The participants in the Yalta Conference managed to overcome their differences, and, acting in the spirit of true solidarity, mutual respect and trust, abandoned their fleeting interests for the sake of defeating the common enemy and achieving a common victory, peace and freedom for all countries and peoples. *** 🌟 By early 1945, the Red Army had fully liberated the Soviet Union from the Nazi invaders and was mounting a decisive offensive: by January, the Nazi troops had been expelled from Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, and most of Poland. The Soviet forces had secured strategically important bridgehead on the western bank of the Oder river and were preparing for the final battle of #WWII — the fight for the Reich’s capital — Berlin. As the Red Army advanced rapidly from the Vistula-Oder direction, UK-American units were pushing towards the Rhine river. Despite fierce resistance from elite units of the Nazi war machine, Germany’s defeat was inevitable. With the common Victory approaching, the discussing issues the post-war world order became a top priority for the Allied Powers. Thus, it was decided to convene a major conference, with the Soviet city of Yalta chosen as the venue (February 4-11, 1945). A central focus of the #CrimeanConference was the post-war future of the defeated Germany. The Allies reaffirmed their commitment to the eradication of German militarism and Nazism and to ensuring that “Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace of the world.” It was also agreed that Germany would be obliged to pay reparations for the damage inflicted by its aggression. During the Yalta negotiations, the 'Big Three' Leaders reached a compromise on the issue ofPoland’s borders.The Soviet delegation firmly advocated for Poland’s fundamental interests, upholding its right to independence and sovereignty. Churchill later described the Soviet Union’s historic role in liberating Poland from Nazism in his memoirs: But for the prodigious exertions and sacrifices of Russia, Poland was doomed to utter destruction at the hands of the Germans. Not only Poland as a State and as a nation, but the Poles as a race were doomed by Hitler to be destroyed or reduced to a servile station The considerable growth in the USSR’s international prestige significantly influenced the course and outcomes of the Yalta negotiations. This was due, in large part, to the Red Army’s remarkable successes on the battlefield. The image of the Soviet soldier as a Liberator was cemented, and the world recognised Soviet people's immense Sacrifice and Achievement in WWII The Conference produced several crucial documents, including the Declaration on Liberated Europe, which helped shape the international system for decades. The framework for the future #UnitedNations also took clearer form. Following Yalta, the Soviet Union secured agreement on the “principle of unanimity” among the five permanent UN Security Council members, embodied in the right of veto — #UNCharterIsOurRules. The Yalta agreements strengthened the unity of the anti-Hitler coalition in the final stages of World War II and contributed to the ultimate common victory over Germany. In the post-war years, ensuring the implementation of the Yalta decisions became a key objective of Soviet diplomacy. #Victory81#WeWereAllies