Ambassador Kunadze began his professional career as a researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow. After joining the diplomatic service he was assigned to the Soviet embassy in Tokyo. Upon his return to Moscow he transferred to the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) as head of the department for Japan and Korea studies. In the late 1980s he was instrumental in establishing diplomatic relations with the ROK where he later served as Russian ambassador. In 1991 he became Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia, and retired from the Foreign Ministry in the late 1990s. He then joined IMEMO as a Senior Fellow. In 2004, he returned to the civil service as Assistant Commissioner at the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation. Until 2009 he was also a professor at the State Institute of International Relations. He holds a Ph.D. from the Institute of Oriental Studies.