Almaz (Yerofey) Ivanovich Ivanov (, ? – April 27 ( N.S. May 7), 1669) was a Russian

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

. From 1640 to 1646, Almaz Ivanov held the post of a '' dyak'' of the royal treasury (Казённый двор, or ''Kazyonniy dvor''). In 1646, he was transferred to the ''

Posolsky Prikaz A prikaz (russian: прика́з, ''prikaz''; , plural: ) was an administrative, judicial, territorial, or executive office functioning on behalf of palace, civil, military, or church authorities in Muscovy and in Russia from the 15th to the 18 ...

'' (Посольский приказ, or Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Ivanov was appointed head of the ''Posolsky Prikaz'' in 1653 and remained on this post until 1667. He also managed the '' Pechatny Prikaz'' (Печатный приказ, or Stamp Office) between 1653 and 1669. Ivanov played an important role in the government of

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov. He knew several languages and was a skillful

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and manager. In foreign affairs, Ivanov supported Russia's struggle against Poland and the cause for integration of the Russian lands in the south and west into a unified Russian state. Ivanov went to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in 1649 as a member of a diplomatic mission and visited Poland on numerous occasions. Under Ivanov's supervision, they introduced a new

Customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

Charter in 1653, which unified customs duties.

References

Tsardom of Russia people Government ministers of Russia Diplomats of the Russian Empire 1669 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Russia-diplomat-stub