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Vladimir Mikhailovich Vinogradov (1921 – 21 June 1997) was a prominent Soviet diplomat in the second half of the 20th century.

Early life

Vinogradov was born in 1921 in Vinnitsa, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

. In 1945, he earned a degree in engineering and technology in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

; three years later, he graduated from the All-Union Academy of Foreign Trade. After finishing his studies, he was appointed assistant to the commercial representative of the USSR in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Vinogradov returned to Moscow four years later to work in the central apparatus of the Ministry of Trade. He served as the Deputy Chief of the Department of Commerce for the next ten years, dealing mostly with western countries.

Diplomatic career

From 1962 to 1966, Vinogradov was the ambassador of the USSR in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

; he served as Ambassador to Egypt from 1970 to 1974. At the beginning of 1975, Vinogradov acted as the initiator of a rapprochement between the USSR and Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

.

From February 1977 to April 1982, Vinogradov was the ambassador of the USSR in Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

. After this assignment, Vinogradov was appointed to the post of Minister for Foreign Affairs of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 (in the structure of the USSR). He held this post for eight years, continuing to actively participate in the implementation of Soviet policy in the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

. Vinogradov retired from his diplomatic career in 1990.

Retirement

After retiring, Vinogradov maintained a high level of interest in the Middle East. In 1992, he headed the Russian Committee of Public Organizations on Assistance to the Arab-Israeli settlement. Through this structure, many informal contacts of Moscow with political figures of the countries of the Middle East were carried out in the 1990s. Vinogradov participated in them very actively, from time to time advising diplomats of the official position of post-Soviet Russia on various regional questions.