Office of the Historian

125.631/19

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State

No. 65
Moscow, May 29, 1934.
[Received June 27.]

Sir: I have the honor to enclose herewith in copy and translation the memorandum on American consular representation in the Soviet Union referred to in my telegram No. 101, May 24, 1934.24 It was handed me by Mr. Rubinin of the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs on the same date.

Respectfully yours,

For the Ambassador:
John C. Wiley

Counselor of Embassy
[Enclosure—Translation]

The Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union to the American Embassy

1. It would be possible to organize at the same time in Moscow a Consular Section attached to the Embassy of the United States, as well as a separate Consulate General (Consulate) of the United States.

2. Should the arrangement set forth in paragraph 1 be adopted, the City of Moscow and the Moscow Oblast could be determined in the Exequatur as the district of the Consul General (Consul) of the United States in Moscow, granting to the Consulate the right to perform all consular functions within the territorial limits indicated.

The above-mentioned Exequatur would be granted to the person appointed as chief of the Consulate after presentation of the consular commission of this officer to the People’s Commissariat in the customary manner.

3. Independently of the functions outlined in paragraph 2, it would be possible for the Consul General (Consul) in Moscow to perform, [Page 103] in practice, all the fundamental technical duties of a consulate such as the granting of passports and visas, legalization and notarial work, for the whole territory of the Soviet Union, with the exception of such parts thereof as will be included later on in the consular districts of other American Consulates.

4. In this case, the protection of the current interests of American citizens in the Soviet Union and the performance of the other phases of consular activity for the parts of the Soviet Union not included in the consular districts either of the Consulate General in Moscow, or of other American Consulates, would be taken over by the Consular Section of the American Embassy at the head of which would be a person designated for this purpose by the American Ambassador, from the diplomatic personnel of the Embassy.

Moscow, May 24, 1934.
  1. Telegram not printed.↩