Congress of Russian Americans expresses deep regret in the recent closure of the Russian Consulate in San Francisco. The consulate in San Francisco is the oldest and most established of Russia’s consulates in the United States. Both Russians, as well as Americans wishing visas to travel will be affected in the 7 states that the SF Consulate services.

CRA, founded in 1973, as a national non-profit, non-governmental, non-Communist organization, during the Cold War, established friendly working relations with the Russian Consulate after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The Consulate has been extremely helpful with CRA’s mission of preserving and promoting Russian historical and cultural heritage, as well as facilitating our medical teams to Russia for surgeries and humanitarian help, as well as visa support to our countless members.  And, we thank Consul General Sergey Petrov, Deputy Consul Andrei Varlamov and their entire staff for their invaluable help to our organization, our members and our Russian-American community.

CRA expresses concern that this closure will greatly affect the current descent of bilateral relations, and hopes for improved dialogue and understanding between our two countries and increased cooperation for better US-Russia relations.