Press Release
January 30, 2023
Today, United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation Lynne Tracy met with Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Ryabkov at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. President Joe Biden announced Ambassador Tracy’s nomination on September 20, 2022. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 21, 2022, and sworn in on January 9, 2023. Ambassador Tracy is the first woman to occupy the post of U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation.
Ambassador Tracy begins her tenure in Moscow focused on maintaining dialogue between our capitals at a time of unprecedented tension. She will be an advocate for the safety and fair treatment of all U.S. citizens detained in Russia. Ambassador Tracy also looks forward to supporting the long-standing connections between the American and Russian people.
Ambassador Tracy is a career member of the United States Senior Foreign Service. Most recently, she served as Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia. Previously, she served as Senior Advisor for Russia Affairs in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow from 2014-2017.
Her other senior leadership positions include Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Asia in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the Department of State, 2012-2014, and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 2010-2011. Ambassador Tracy was the Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, 2006-2009, where she was awarded the U.S. Secretary of State’s Award for Heroism. She was also the Principal Officer at the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Astana, Kazakhstan, 2004-2006. Other overseas assignments include the U.S. embassies in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She worked in the Office of the Special Envoy to the Newly Independent States at the Department of State in 2000-2001. Ambassador Tracy speaks Russian and has a bachelor’s degree in Soviet studies from the University of Georgia as well as a law degree from the University of Akron.
