Dobrynin had the unique experience of serving as Soviet ambassador to the United States during the terms of six presidents (Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan). The Cold War rivalry made his position one of the key elements in Soviet–American relations, and between the Soviet Ambassador to the United States (in Washington) and the United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (in Moscow), most diplomatic business channeled through the former. Dobrynin's regular contacts with the US State Department resulted in him being granted his own parking spot in the State Department garage.