Consulate General of the United States, Vladivostok (Russian: Генеральное консульство США во Владивостоке) was a diplomatic mission of the United States in Vladivostok, providing consular services to Russian and American citizens in the Far East and in Eastern Siberia. The consulate was located in the Leninsky District of Vladivostok, at Pushkinskaya Street, house 32. It was closed in 2021 due to staffing shortages.[1]
History
The first U.S. consulate in Vladivostok was opened during the Russian Empire era in 1875, but it was subsequently closed after the Soviet Revolution in 1923.[2] During the times of the USSR, due to the concentration of defense industry sectors, a significant part of the Far East, along with Vladivostok itself, remained closed to foreigners for decades during the Cold War. As a result, most residents were prohibited from traveling abroad, and exposure to Western ideas was strictly limited. The Consulate General of the U.S. in Vladivostok was officially re-established on September 22, 1992, a year after the city was opened for visits by foreigners and Russian citizens in particular.[3][4][5]
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.[6] 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.[7]
‡ Missions which are located in countries or cities that may be considered a part of more than one continent
1 Consulates-General which function as an embassy (ie. consul reports to State Department, not the respective country's ambassador)
2 The American Institute in Taiwan is ostensibly a public, non-profit organization to promote US-Taiwanese relations, but through State Department staffing & assistance, functions as an informal US diplomatic mission.