The Consulate General of Russia in San Francisco was Russia's diplomatic office in the 2790 Green Street building in

Pacific Heights, San Francisco Pacific Heights (often referred to as Pac Heights) is a wealthy neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States. It has panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay, the Palace of Fine Arts, Alcatraz, Presidio of San Fr ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It was operated by the

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; , МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign policy and foreign relations of Russia. It is a continuation of the Ministry of Foreig ...

.Zaverukha, Lydia B. and Nina Bogdan. ''Russian San Francisco'' (Images of America).

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American Publishing, publisher of neighborhood, local history, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs th ...

, 2009. , 9780738571676. p
61
The building of the former consulate remains government property of Russia.

History

Russian Empire

On February 14, 1852, due to increased activity of the

Russian-American Company The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the Shelikhov-Golikov Company, United American Company. Emperor Paul I of Russia chartered the c ...

in California, the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

appointed entrepreneur William Montgomery Stuart as its first consul in San Francisco. On October 3, 1853, Andrey Eduardovich Stekl became the consul followed by Peter Kostromitinov from December 28, 1853 until 1862. Kostromitinov was an agent of the Russian-American Company and a manager at

Fort Ross Fort Ross (, , Kashaya: ) is a former Russian establishment on the west coast of North America in what is now Sonoma County, California. Owned and operated by the Russian-American Company, it was the hub of the southernmost Russian settlemen ...

. From 1862 to 1875, Martin Fedorovich Klinkovstrom was the consul followed by Gustav Newbaum - who was an entrepreneur from the

Alaska Commercial Company Alaska Commercial Company (ACC) is a grocery and retail company which operates stores in rural Alaska, beginning in the early period of Alaska's ownership by the United States into the present. From 1901 to 1992, it was known as the Northern Comm ...

. While Newbaum was consul, the consulate was located initially at 411 California Street and then later at 418 California Street. From April 6, 1915 until the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

, was the last consul of the Russian Empire. In November 1924 due to lack of funding the consulate on California Street was closed, which led to the usage of

William Westerfeld House The William Westerfeld House, also known as the "Russian Embassy", is a historic building located at 1198 Fulton Street (at Scott St.) in San Francisco, California, United States, across the street from the northwest corner of Alamo Square. Cons ...

as the consulate. From 1926 until 1933 Vydotsev and Arthur-Karl Yulievich von Landesen served as consuls on a voluntary basis.

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. This led to the first consulate of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in San Francisco being opened on 2563 Divisadero Street in April 1934, with Moses Grigorievich Galkovich as consul from 1934-1937. At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the consulate quietly funded

isolationist Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...

groups such as American Peace Committee, which were committed to keeping America out the war and attempting to block aid to Britain. During

Jacob M. Lomakin Jacob Mironovich Lomakin (; November 4, 1904 – August 16, 1958) was a Soviet diplomat, journalist and economist. World War II US–Soviet Alliance (1942–1944) In 1939 the graduate of the Moscow Textile Institute (with expertise in engineeri ...

was the consul from 1942–1944. He was active in the

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

program to aid Britain, and at meetings for raising funds to aid the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. These last meetings were funded by a coalition

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

organizations, among them the non-partisan

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

, and the CPUSA-led

American Russian Institute The American Russian Institute (ARI; Russian: Американо-русский институт) was an American public organization established to foster cultural ties with the Soviet Union. Founded in 1930 in New York City, it was closely asso ...

and

Russian War Relief Russian War Relief (RWR) (also known as the Russian War Relief Fund and The American Committee for Russian War Relief) was the largest American agency for foreign war relief. It had the "express and exclusive purpose of giving succor to the Russian ...

. Together with progressive cultural figures, and military and governmental officials of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Lomakin advocated the opening of the

Second Front The Western Front was a military theatre of World War II encompassing Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. The Italian front is considered a separate but related theatre. The Wester ...

, to relieve military pressure on the Soviet Union. The building at 2563 Divisadero Street held the consulate until August 1948, when with the onset of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

the Soviet Union closed its consulates in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and San Francisco, meaning the reciprocal closing of the US consulates in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

. On June 1, 1964, in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

the Soviet Union and United States signed a consular convention, allowing for both countries to open consulates outside their national capitals. The Soviets were believed to be considering

, San Francisco, and Chicago, while the United States was considering

and

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

. The consular convention was

ratified Ratification is a principal's legal confirmation of an act of its agent. In international law, ratification is the process by which a state declares its consent to be bound to a treaty. In the case of bilateral treaties, ratification is usuall ...

on June 13, 1968 by

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

, and

came into force In law, coming into force or entry into force (also called commencement) is the process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have legal force and effect. The term is closely related to the date of this ...

on July 13, 1968. In 1971 Alexander Ivanovich Zinchuk became the de facto consul for USSR. 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. On June 23, 1973, the consulate moved into its current location, a six-story former apartment building at 2790 Green Street. Zinchuk became the official consul for the USSR in San Francisco.

Russian Federation

In 2011 the consulate bought new granite

headstones A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

, for a total of $20,000, for Russian sailors who died fighting the San Francisco Fire of 1863.Jones, Carolyn (April 26, 2011)
"Vallejo fights Russian Consulate over headstones"
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

''. Retrieved June 4, 2015. The graves were installed on

Mare Island Mare Island (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait junc ...

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California, United States, and the second largest city in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the ci ...

. The city government protested the plan, saying that it goes against historical preservation. In December 2016, four Russian diplomats posted to the consulate, including a

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

were declared ''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...

'' due to alleged

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

, in retaliation for Russian interference in the

United States presidential election The election of the president of the United States, president and Vice President of the United States, vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are Voter registration in the United ...

. On August 31, 2017, the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

ordered the consulate closed by September 2, 2017. Before the consulate was closed, smoke was seen billowing out of the building, suggesting sensitive materials were being destroyed. As of early 2025 the US and Russian governments are in talks to opening the consulate again.

Espionage

In 1987, Ivan N. Miroshkin of the

Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics () was founded on 6 July 1923. It had three names during its existence: People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (1923–1946), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1946–1991) ...

, reported that the consulate had been bugged by the United States using a secret tunnel the United States had bored under the consulate. 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 Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

. Russian diplomats based out of the consulate have also been reportedly mapping where underground nodes connected the national

fiber-optic communication Fiber-optic communication is a form of optical communication for transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of infrared or visible light through an optical fiber. The light is a form of carrier wave that is modul ...

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.

Consuls General of Russia in San Francisco

Gallery

File:Painted_Lady.jpg,

was the consulate's location when Vydotsev was consul. File:Russian Consulate-General in SF.JPG, Current location of the consulate on Green Street.

References

External links

Consulate General of Russia in San Francisco (archived)
{{Diplomatic missions in the United States 1933 establishments in California 2017 disestablishments in California Defunct diplomatic missions in the United States

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Russia–United States relations Soviet Union–United States relations