Consulate General of the United States, Vladivostok

The first U.S. consulate in Vladivostok was opened during the Russian Empire era in 1875. In 1898, U.S. Ambassador Hitchcock prompted the United States Congress to appropriate the supplies for an American consulate in Vladivostok because of the American trade with Siberia, seeking to increase trade by promoting direct shipping routes.^[2] This consulate was subsequently closed after the Soviet Revolution in 1923.^[3] In 1940, the Soviet Union gave the United States permission to re-open its consulate in Vladivostok.^[4][5] On May 16, 1941, the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs sent a note verbale to the United States Embassy in Moscow setting travel limitations on employees at the embassy and consulate.^[5] In August 1948, the Soviet Union closed its consulates in New York and San Francisco, meaning the reciprocal closing of the US consulates in Leningrad and Vladivostok.^[6][7][8][9]

The consulate was officially re-established on September 22, 1992, a year after the city was opened for visits by foreigners and Russian citizens in particular.^[10][11][12]

In March 2020, the Consulate General of the U.S. in Vladivostok fully suspended the issuance of visas and consular services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the U.S. Consulate in Yekaterinburg limited its services to emergency cases only.^[13] Soon afterwards, on April 1, 2021, it was announced that the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok would not be able to resume operations due to a staff shortage, and it again suspended its activities indefinitely. According to Consul General Louis Krishok, visa and consular services will be provided only at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and the U.S. consular agency in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.^[1]

The Consulate General of the U.S. in Vladivostok included: a visa department, a press and culture department, and a representation of the United States Department of Agriculture.^[14]