Consulate General of Russia, Houston
The Consulate-General of the Russian Federation in Houston (Генеральное консульство Российской Федерации в Хьюстоне) is Russia's diplomatic office in Houston, Texas, United States.
The facility is located in Suite 1300 at Park Towers South, an office building located at 1333 West Loop South, in close proximity to the Houston Galleria.
The facility serves Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. As of 2008 the consul general is Nikolay Y. Babich.[1]
History
In October 2001 the U.S. and Russia formally agreed to establish a Houston consulate. The Russian government approved the establishment on February 12, 2003. On May 9 of that year the United States Department of State confirmed the appointment of the consul general. The facility opened on August 4, 2004.[1]
Russia opened a consulate in Houston due to the proximity to aerospace and petroleum industries. Nikolai V. Sofinskiy, the first consul general, stated that the Houston area has around 40,000 Russian speakers and that Houston's consulate could easily serve the southeastern United States.[2][3]
External links
- ^ a b "THE HISTORY OF THE CONSULATE GENERAL." Consulate-General of the Russian Federation in Houston.
- ^ "Energy, space draw Russian consulate here." Houston Chronicle. May 26, 2004.
- ^ "Russian Consulate coming to Houston." KHOU-TV.