Boris Dmitriyevich Pankin (Russian: Борис Дмитриевич Панкин; born 20 February 1931) is a former Soviet diplomat who served as acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR for a brief period in 1991.

[3] Pankin is credited with preventing the Communist-Czechoslovak government from interfering in the Velvet Revolution - which led to playwright and dissident Václav Havel's rise to the presidency.

Pankin is best known for being the highest-ranking diplomat to stand against the August putsch which sought to bring down Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader and promulgator of Glasnost and Perestroika.

[4] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Pankin was named Russian Ambassador to the Court of St James's (UK),[2][3] where he served until 1993.

Boris Pankin sits on the Board of Advisors of the Global Panel Foundation - an NGO known for working behind-the-scenes in conflict areas.