1. Vitaly Churkin graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1974, and began working for them then, and he received a PhD in History from the USSR Diplomatic Academy in 1981.
15 Facts About Vitaly Churkin
1. 2.
Vitaly Churkin served as a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, and he was Deputy Foreign Minister from 1992 to 1994.
3.
Vitaly Churkin was Russia's Ambassador to Belgium from 1994 to 1998, and the Ambassador to Canada from 1998 to 2003.
4.
Vitaly Churkin replaced Andrey Denisov as the Permanent Representative to the United Nations on 1 May 2006, when he presented his credentials to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan.
5.
Vitaly Churkin was the Chairman of the Senior Officials of the Arctic Council.
6.
Vitaly Churkin won some notoriety in 1986 when, as a 34-year-old second secretary, he was selected by Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to testify before the United States Congress on the Soviet man-made Chernobyl disaster.
7.
In 2008, during the Russo-Georgian War, Vitaly Churkin proposed a draft resolution imposing a weapons embargo on Georgia.
8.
On 13 March 2014, Vitaly Churkin was questioned by Arseniy Yatsenyuk on whether Crimea had a right to hold a referendum which would determine Crimea's status as a part of either Russia or Ukraine.
9.
On 25 June 2014, Vitaly Churkin commented on the first round of talks regarding the Iranian nuclear program, saying that the talks between the P5+1 states and Iran were successful.
10.
On 12 June 2014, Vitaly Churkin briefed on the crisis in Baghdad, Iraq, saying that there was no threat to his colleague Nickolay Mladenov, who is the head of the UN's political mission in that country.
11.
Vitaly Churkin noted that the violence there erupts further north.
12.
The Russian Federation, after Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was the only country on the security council that was against the resolution : Vitaly Churkin issued a veto on his country's behalf at the UN Security Council on 8 July 2015.
13.
Vitaly Churkin died in New York City on 20 February 2017, the eve of his 65th birthday.
14.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that Vitaly Churkin died while at work and expressed condolences to Vitaly Churkin's family.
15.
Vitaly Churkin was posthumously awarded the Russian Order of Courage on 21 February 2017 and the Order of the Serbian Flag 1st class.