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Consulate General of Russia, San Francisco
Former diplomatic mission of Russia in USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Consulate General of Russia in San Francisco was Russia's diplomatic office in the 2790 Green Street building in Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California. It was operated by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[1] The building of the former consulate remains government property of Russia.[2][3]
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History
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Russian Empire
On February 14, 1852, due to increased activity of the Russian-American Company in California, the government of the Russian Empire appointed entrepreneur William Montgomery Stuart as its first consul in San Francisco.[4]
On October 3, 1853, Andrey Eduardovich Stekl became the consul followed by Peter Kostromitinov from December 28, 1853 until 1862.[4] Kostromitinov was an agent of the Russian-American Company and a manager at Fort Ross.[5][6]
From 1862 to 1875, Martin Fedorovich Klinkovstrom was the consul followed by Gustav Newbaum - who was an entrepreneur from the Alaska Commercial Company.[4] While Newbaum was consul, the consulate was located initially at 411 California Street and then later at 418 California Street.[4]
From April 6, 1915 until the February Revolution, Artemy Markovich Vydotsev was the last consul of the Russian Empire.[4] In November 1924 due to lack of funding the consulate on California Street was closed, which led to the usage of William Westerfeld House as the consulate.[4][7][8] From 1926 until 1933 Vydotsev and Arthur-Karl Yulievich von Landesen served as consuls on a voluntary basis.[4]
Soviet Union
On November 16, 1933, the Roosevelt-Litvinov agreement was signed in which both sides said they were prepared to negotiate a consular convention.[9][4][10] This led to the first consulate of the Soviet Union in San Francisco being opened on 2563 Divisadero Street in April 1934, with Moses Grigorievich Galkovich as consul from 1934-1937.[4][10] At the outbreak of World War II, the consulate quietly funded isolationist groups such as American Peace Committee, which were committed to keeping America out the war and attempting to block aid to Britain.[citation needed]
During World War II, Jacob M. Lomakin was the consul from February 1942 until 1944.[11][12] He was active in the Lend-Lease program, and at events for raising funds to aid the Red Army.[11] Some of the funding came from coalition anti-fascist organizations, such as the nonpartisan Red Cross Society, the American Russian Institute, and the Russian War Relief.[11][13] Together with progressive cultural figures, and military and governmental officials of the United States, Lomakin advocated the opening of the Second Front in order to relieve military pressure on the Soviet Union.[14][15][16][11]
The building at 2563 Divisadero Street held the consulate until August 1948, when with the onset of the Cold War the Soviet Union closed its consulates in New York and San Francisco, meaning the reciprocal closing of the US consulates in Leningrad and Vladivostok.[17][18][7][4]
On June 1, 1964, in Moscow the Soviet Union and United States signed a consular convention, allowing for both countries to open consulates outside their national capitals.[4][10] The Soviets were believed to be considering New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, while the United States was considering Leningrad and Odessa.[10] The consular convention was ratified on June 13, 1968 by Lyndon B. Johnson, and came into force on July 13, 1968.[4][19]
In 1971 Alexander Ivanovich Zinchuk became the de facto consul for USSR.[4] Consular relations between the USSR and the US were restored only after 24 years in 1972 during the extensive dialogue between the Soviet Union and United States that year.[20] On June 23, 1973, the consulate moved into its current location, a six-story former apartment building at 2790 Green Street.[21] Zinchuk became the official consul for the USSR in San Francisco.[21]
Russian Federation
In 2011 the consulate bought new granite headstones, for a total of $20,000, for Russian sailors who died fighting the San Francisco Fire of 1863.[22] The graves were installed on Mare Island in Vallejo, California.[22] The city government protested the plan, saying that it goes against historical preservation.[22]
In December 2016, four Russian diplomats posted to the consulate, including a chef were declared persona non grata due to alleged espionage, in retaliation for Russian interference in the United States presidential election.[23][24]
On August 31, 2017, the State Department ordered the consulate closed by September 2, 2017.[25][26] Before the consulate was closed, smoke was seen billowing out of the building, suggesting sensitive materials were being destroyed.[27][28][29]
As of early 2025 the US and Russian governments are in talks to opening the consulate again.[30][31]
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Espionage
In 1987, Ivan N. Miroshkin of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reported that the consulate had been bugged by the United States using a secret tunnel the United States had bored under the consulate.[29][32]
In 1984, a United States government report indicated that there may have been approximately 50 Soviet spies operating out of the consulate, primarily targeting Silicon Valley.[29][33] Russian diplomats based out of the consulate have also been reportedly mapping where underground nodes connected the national fiber-optic communication network, and it was alleged that the network of antennas and other electronic communication equipment on the roof of the consulate were being used to transmit information to submarines or trawlers located off the Pacific coast in international waters.[29][34]
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Consuls General of Russia in San Francisco
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Russian Consulate, San Francisco.
William Westerfeld House was the consulate's location when Vydotsev was the voluntary consul.
Current location of the consulate on Green Street.
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