Russia is likely to send a tough new ambassador to the United States, given the charged political atmosphere.

The Russian government is getting ready to appoint a new ambassador to the United States. The candidacy of Anatoly Antonov, a diplomat with prior experience in military matters, has already cleared the Russian State Duma.

Although he began his career as a diplomat, Mr. Antonov has most recently served as deputy defense minister, a position he held for five years until December 2016. Shortly before the New Year’s holiday, the Russian President relieved Mr. Antonov of his post in the Defense Ministry and transferred him back to the Foreign Ministry as a deputy minister.

While at the Defense Ministry, Mr. Antonov was responsible for international cooperation. After relocating to the Foreign Ministry, Mr. Antonov picked up with military- and security-related matters.

In the runup to Mr. Antonov’s nomination, the Russian Kommersant daily newspaper quoted anonymous sources as suggesting that the Russian leadership chose a hardline diplomat with military experience for dealing with the U.S. at a time when Hillary Clinton’s victory in the presidential race was the widely-expected outcome of the elections.

Even while Donald Trump ultimately became the President of the United States, Kremlin officials still consider Mr. Antonov to be a good candidate for the diplomatic position.

Mr. Antonov’s expertise in military affairs is extensive, especially relative to U.S.-Russia interactions. The high-ranking diplomat has acted as the head of Russian delegations during talks on the New START treaty. As an official of the Russian government, Mr. Antonov has been added to the E.U. sanctions list in 2015.