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U.S. Department of State Diplomacy in Action
BUREAU OF EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS
Fact Sheet
December 20, 2016
More information about Russia is available on the Russia Page (http://www.state.gov/p/eur/ci/rs/index.htm) and from other Department of State publications and other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet.
U.S.-RUSSIA RELATIONS
Russia recognized the United States on October 28, 1803, and diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia were formally established in 1809. Diplomatic relations were interrupted following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. On December 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson instructed all American diplomatic representatives in Russia to refrain from any direct communication with representatives of the Bolshevik Government. Although diplomatic relations were never formally severed, the United States refused to recognize or have any formal relations with the Bolshevik/Soviet governments until 1933. Normal diplomatic relations were resumed on November 16, 1933, when President Franklin Roosevelt informed Soviet Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov that the United States recognized the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and wished to re-establish normal diplomatic relations. On December 25, 1991, the United States recognized the Russian Federation as the successor to the Soviet Union, when President George H.W. Bush announced the decision in an address to the nation. President Bush also announced that the Embassy in Moscow would remain in place as the American Embassy to the Russian Federation. The United States and the Russian Federation established diplomatic relations on December 31, 1991.
The United States has long sought a full and constructive relationship with Russia. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States adopted a bipartisan strategy to facilitate cooperation on global issues and promote foreign investment and trade. The United States supported Russia's integration into European and global institutions and...