Farewell with Pushkin: U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy Concludes Moscow Mission Amid Tense U.S.-Russia Relations

Lynne Tracy, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, will conclude her tenure in Moscow after two and a half years, as announced by the embassy on Friday.

A seasoned diplomat, Tracy began her role as ambassador in January 2023 during the Biden administration. Her career has included positions in several countries that were once part of the Soviet Union, including Armenia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, as well as assignments in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

«In leaving Russia, I trust that my embassy colleagues will persist in their efforts to enhance our relations and connect with the Russian populace,» Tracy stated in a message shared on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow’s Telegram channel on Friday.

«I found inspiration in my encounters with Russians who are devoted to their country and strive daily for a brighter future,» she remarked.

She ended her farewell message with a quotation from Alexander Pushkin’s poem «To Chaadayev»:

While freedom ignites us, my friend,
While honor beckons and we heed its call,
Come: let us nurture in our homeland
The noble urgings of the spirit.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow initially announced Tracy’s impending departure, but has yet to reveal who President Donald Trump will designate as her successor.

The embassy did not respond to The Moscow Times’ request for comments.

Since assuming office in January, Trump has sought to replace many ambassadors appointed by his predecessor, Joe Biden. In May, Bridget Brink, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who resigned in April, cited her disagreement with Trump’s foreign policy as the reason for her departure.

Tracy’s exit comes just a few months after Alexander Darchiyev, Russia’s new ambassador to the U.S., took on his responsibilities. His predecessor, Anatoly Antonov, returned to Moscow last October.

In recent months, the Trump administration has sought to repair relations with Russia, which have reached a historic low due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Darchiyev mentioned earlier this month that during a recent discussion with Trump, he communicated to the U.S. president that the Russian Embassy in Washington would «do everything possible to restore Russian-American ties, bringing them back to normalcy and rationality.»

However, the pace and scope of this potential rapprochement remain unclear. On Wednesday, Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov expressed that the Trump administration does not seem inclined to fully restore diplomatic relations, pointing to stalled negotiations to address disputes related to embassy operations.

Russia is advocating for the return of six diplomatic properties in the U.S. that were confiscated between 2016 and 2018 in response to allegations of electoral interference. Additionally, it is seeking definitive answers regarding its request to resume direct flights between Russia and the United States.

According to the Kremlin, U.S. officials have linked the resumption of direct flights to advances in achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine.