Yuri Dubinin

Yuri Dubinin trained at MGIMO and began his diplomatic career in 1955. Early assignments in France and the UNESCO Secretariat led to responsibility for Western European affairs in Moscow. He helped prepare and conduct the negotiations that produced the Helsinki Final Act, then became ambassador to Spain in 1978 and participated in the Madrid follow-up meeting of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. ¹

Dubinin’s Washington ambassadorship began in 1986, when Soviet and American leaders were searching for a path toward another summit. Meeting President Ronald Reagan on 23 June, he delivered Gorbachev’s letter and urged practical work on arms control. He raised intermediate-range missiles, nuclear testing and verification, and regional disputes. Reagan emphasized the mistrust between the two governments and suggested a summit after the American elections; Dubinin pressed for preparations to begin immediately so that the foreign ministers could assess progress in September. ²

After Washington, Dubinin served as ambassador to France, an ambassador-at-large, and a Russian deputy foreign minister. He represented Russia in Ukraine from 1996 to 1999 while retaining deputy minister rank. Retiring from diplomatic office, he taught at MGIMO and wrote books about his assignments in France, Spain, and the United States, as well as the practice of negotiation. He remained active in educational programs and the Association of Friends of France until his death in 2013. ^{1, 3}