Office of the Historian

124.60I/41: Telegram

The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Thurston) to the Secretary of State

Moscow, September 5, 1940—11 a.m.
[Received September 6—2:28 a.m.]

1112. 1. Our offices at Tallinn, Kaunas and Riga will formally close today.39 They have in fact I believe already suspended their functions. The situation at each office is as follows:

2. Tallinn: Packing and customs examination of Government property completed today and Ward intends to depart as soon as railway bills of lading have been obtained and Government-rented quarters have been turned over to local authorities. In the meantime, however, his residence permit will expire today.

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3. Kaunas: The only pending matters are the granting of Soviet exit visas to McClung and Mazionis, who are assigned to this Embassy and to five alien employees. Bohlen will remain at Kaunas until visas are granted to McClung and Mazionis, which will require extension of his residence permit also.

4. The situation at Riga is more complicated as a result of the insistence Soviet authorities upon opening and examining and probably against the effect40 of our clerks; the failure of the Soviet authorities to issue a permit for the export of Minister Wiley’s automobile consigned to this Embassy; and the failure of the Soviet authorities to issue an exit visa to Marquis who is assigned to duty in this Embassy. Lightner and Reinhardt are remaining until these matters are adjusted which will necessitate prolongation of their residence permits. Packer and Washington also desire to remain but I am recommending that they depart without further delay.

5. I have made repeated oral and written representations to the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs regarding the difficulties implicit in the foregoing report and I am renewing such representations orally today.

Thurston
  1. For text of the public notice announcing the closure of the American Legations with their consular sections in the three Baltic States, effective on September 5, see Department of State Bulletin, September 7, 1940, p. 199.↩
  2. This passage is obviously incomplete; it may properly read: “and probably levying export duty against the effects”.↩