Barberton native Lynne M. Tracy named US ambassador to Russia

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to confirm Barberton native Lynne M. Tracy, a University of Akron graduate, as the new ambassador to Russia.

Hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was expected to arrive in Washington for a historic visit, senators voted to 93-2 to confirm Tracy, a veteran as the new ambassador to Russia. Some viewed it as a signal of the American commitment to war-torn Ukraine as it confronts Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer opened the chamber's session by saying that Wednesday's passage of a fresh $45 billion military aid package for Ukraine and confirmation of the new U.S. ambassador to Russia would send a strong signal that Americans stand "unequivocally" with the Ukrainian people.

Veteran diplomat Tracy, a career member of the Foreign Service who previously served as ambassador to Armenia, "will be tasked with standing up to Putin," Schumer said. The only two votes against Tracy came from Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky, both of whom have been skeptical of the administration's support for Ukraine.

Tracy graduated from Barberton High School in 1982, received her bachelor's degree in Soviet Studies from the University of Georgia in 1986 and earned her juris doctorate from the University of Akron in 1994.

She will oversee an embassy in Moscow that has been decimated in terms of staffing as U.S.-Russia ties have plummeted over the war in Ukraine along with several long-standing and unrelated diplomatic disputes over personnel and facilities and compounded by disagreements over arms control.

Tracy, who speaks Russian, previously served as a senior adviser for Russian affairs in the State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. She also held several posts in Central and South Asia.

The previous U.S. ambassador to Moscow, John Sullivan, left Russia in early September in a departure that had been expected but was accelerated by the failing health of his wife, who died a day after his return to the United States.

Tracy is well-regarded within diplomatic circles and received a State Department heroism award from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2009.

President Donald Trump nominated her to become the ambassador to Armenia in 2018.

While leading the U.S. consulate in Peshawar in Pakistan's insurgency-ridden border regions, Tracy survived an attack on her by a gunman that left her vehicle riddled with bullets, but insisted on going to work that day and staying on post, even as security concerns compelled the consulate to trim its staff.

She was later awarded the Secretary’s Award for Heroism for her quick thinking and decision to return to the post on the day she was attacked, and her decision to complete her mission even after repeated threats against her life.

Tracy also received the State Department's distinguished honor award for her work as the embassy deputy in Moscow.

Tracy was added to the Barberton City Schools Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Barberton Walk of Fame in 2021.

The Associated Press, AP diplomatic writer Matthew Lee, and Beacon Journal reporter Mark J. Price contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Barberton native Lynne M. Tracy named US ambassador to Russia