Russian Empire Many Russian emigrants that came to the United States between 1903 and 1926 came thru New York, making the New York consulate an important part of the
Russian Empire's diplomatic mission. Until 1915, the consulate had jurisdiction over the Philadelphia consulate after which responsibility was assumed by the consul general in
Pittsburgh.
Soviet Union On November 16, 1933, the
Roosevelt-Litvinov Agreement was signed where the United States recognized the
Soviet Union and
diplomatic relations between the two countries began. Five months later, on April 21, 1934, the Soviets opened a
consulate general in New York City at 7–9 East 61st Street. On July 31, 1948,
Oksana Kasenkina, a Soviet citizen and a teacher to the children of diplomats of the
Soviet mission to the United Nations, appealed to the editor of a
Russian-language newspaper in New York City for refuge, and arrangements were made to take Kasenkina to Reed Farm in
Valley Cottage, which was operated by the
White Russian Tolstoy Foundation. Whilst at the Farm, Kasenkina wrote a letter to Soviet
Consul-General Jacob Lomakin ending: "I implore you, I implore you once more, don't let me perish here. I am without willpower." On August 7 Lomakin with vice-consul Chepurnykh arrived at the farm. According to Tolstoy Foundation President Mrs. Alexandra Tolstaya, Kasenkina "at her own free will" went with them to the consulate. On August 9,
Soviet Ambassador to the United States Alexander Panyushkin presented a letter of protest to the United States
Department of State, alleging that Kasenkina had been kidnapped and held against her will by members of the Tolstoy Foundation. On August 11,
Vyacheslav Molotov handed a protest note to
United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union Walter Bedell Smith, in which the accusations were repeated. Following the atmosphere in which the New York City press accused the Soviets of holding Kasenkina against her will, on August 11
New York Supreme Court Justice
Samuel Dickstein issued a
writ of
habeas corpus on Consul-General Lomakin, demanding that he present Kasenkina the following day in court. The same day a Soviet consular official stated that Lomakin would not be presenting Kasenkina, and the following morning Ambassador Panyushkin presented the State Department with a note disputing the legalities of the writ under
international law. A State Department legal adviser wrote to
Governor of New York Thomas E. Dewey, outlining the Soviet complaints and urged Justice Dickstein to take the case under advisement. Shortly afterward Justice Dickstein
reserved decision in the proceedings. On August 19, 1948, the
US State Department requested that Jacob Lomakin be recalled by the Soviets due to his connection with the Kasenkina case. The Soviets responded by closing their New York and
San Francisco consulates on August 25, 1948, and on the basis of reciprocity, the Soviets ordered the US consulate in
Vladivostok closed and plans for the
Leningrad consulate were shelved. In 1974 the
United States and
Soviet Union came to an agreement to open consulates in cities in their respective countries; the United States in
Kiev and the Soviet Union in New York City. The agreement between the two countries meant that no country could open its consulate before the other. The Soviets completed all renovations to their building within a year of purchase; however, the Americans had not completed the building of their consulate in Kiev. In 1978, whilst waiting for the Americans, the Soviets bought the adjacent building at 11 East 91st Street to utilize for housing. After the
Soviet intervention in
Afghanistan, in January 1980
U.S. President Jimmy Carter put an immediate freeze on the consulate program, by withdrawing seven consular officers from Kiev who had been sent to the
Ukrainian SSR in advance of the consulate opening, and ordering the expulsion of 17 Soviet diplomats who were to be attached the Soviet consulate in New York City.
Russian Federation The Consulate General of the Russian Federation in New York City opened to the public on October 26, 1994, and was officially opened on January 31, 1995. The consulate covers the consular region of
Connecticut,
Maine,
Massachusetts,
New Hampshire,
New Jersey,
New York,
Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island and
Vermont. ==Headquarters==