It was established in 2002 to mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Russian and Soviet top diplomats of the past 50 years - in photo gallery by TASS.
Eduard Shevardnadze, who has died aged 86, was Mikhail Gorbachev's foreign minister from 1985 onwards and played a key part in guiding Russia towards democracy. After the end of the Soviet Union ...