Vorontsov served the Soviet Union and Russia as an ambassador to Afghanistan and the United States. His career spanned from the Cold War to the Persian Gulf war. Vorontsov also served as ambassador to the United Nations, France, and India during his career. In 1952, he graduated from the Moscow State Institute of Foreign Relations and worked his way up to deputy Foreign Minister. In 2000, he was appointed an envoy to the United Nations in charge of coordinating efforts to return the bodies and properties of missing Kuwaiti citizens after the gulf war.