Unknown 165-year history of the Russian consulate in San Francisco

The history of the Russian consulate in San Francisco dates back to 1852.

To control the North American lands inhabited by Russian researchers and entrepreneurs, the king needed a strong man in the United States. The choice fell on William Montgomery Steward, about which besides the fact that he was an entrepreneur, little is known.

The history of the Russian consulate in San Francisco began when Paul I appointed a Steward as Russian vice-consul on the American West Coast, writes RBTH.

Up to 2790 Green Street

The current elegant and grand brick building of the Russian consulate in San Francisco was not the original location of the department. Before moving to 2790 Green Street, the Russian consulate changed its residence several times.

Initially, the consulate was located in a three-story mansion with a small superstructure on top. The extensive use of wood in its design left no doubt about its Russian origin.

The famous Russian diplomat Artemy Vyvodtsev was the last inhabitant of this mansion. After the revolution 1917, Vyvodtsev went to Russia and took part in the civil war, after the victory of the Red Army, he returned to the United States. Despite the fact that his term in office was over, the ousted diplomat made an unexpected decision to continue with his consular duties, despite the fact that at that time there was no state that he could represent.

Vyvodtsev published a personal announcement in which he invited his compatriots to ask for help on legal issues and promised to use contacts with former colleagues and consular services in other countries to solve their problems.

“Come to me when children come to their father in all cases of doubt and perplexity. I will give all my experience acquired during 45 years of consular service in almost all countries of the world, as a representative of true Russia,” Vyvodtsev wrote in the announcement.

He lived in California until his death in 1946.

Cold War closure

Although the Russians could use the unofficial assistance of Vyvodtsev, in California it was not possible to receive official consular services until the United States and Soviet Russia established diplomatic relations. A new Soviet consulate opened in 1934 year at: 2563 Divisadero Street. The historic building of this consulate has not been preserved, and now residential apartments are located on this site.

This consulate closed in 1948 at the beginning of the Cold War, when relations between the United States and the Soviet Union began to deteriorate sharply.

The consulate in the red brick building on 2790 Green Street was officially opened 25 years later, in 1973, and, despite all the ups and downs in US-Russia bilateral relations, it continued to operate until September 2017.

But since September 2, by decision of Washington, the Russian consulate in San Francisco has ceased its work. This was the next step in the confrontation between the United States and Russia.

Mutual expulsion from the countries of American and Russian diplomats began on December 29 2016 of the year, when 44 of US President Barack Obama signed a decree obliging Russian diplomats 35 to leave America. This document also closed their colleagues with access to two real estate properties in the states of New York and Maryland, which, according to American intelligence, were used by Russians for espionage.

In response, Russia banned the US Embassy from using a summer cottage in Serebryany Bor and storage facilities on Dorozhnaya Street in the south of Moscow. Russian authorities also expressed the need reducing the American embassy to xnumx people, to equalize their number with the number of employees in the Russian diplomatic mission in the United States.

In response to this, the US Embassy in Russia suspended the issuance of non-immigrant visas August 23 to September 1 2017. The issuance of renewed 1 September, but only in Moscow (before a visa could also be obtained in the consulate general in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok).

In addition, in response The United States decided to close the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco and some sales offices in Washington and New York.

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