RUSSIA – Russia’s president on Thursday appointed Mikhail Petrakov as the new ambassador to Australia.

Born in September 27, 1959, Petrakov has served as a diplomat since 1982.

From 1982 to 1986, he worked at the Soviet office in New Delhi.

From 1999-2001, he served as the head of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), division of the Directorate-General for European Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From 2001-2003, he served as a Senior Adviser of the Russian Permanent Mission to the EU, Brussels.
From 2003-2006, he served as the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the European Union.
From 2006-2008, he served as Deputy Director of the First Department of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
From 2008-2012, he served as the Director of the First Department of the CIS at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In February 2012, he was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to the Republic of South Africa. From April, same year to 2019, he was ambassador to Lesotho.
In 2021, he was appointed as Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the Delimitation and Demarcation of the State Border of the Russian Federation with Neighboring States – Members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), as well as Georgia and the de facto republics of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region.