Russia has recently renamed the street that the U.S. embassy in Moscow resides on to ‘Donetsk People's Republic Square’. The embassy responded by changing all of their listed addresses to coordinates, listing its location on its website as ‘55,75566° N, 37,58028° E’. These mind games between the two states have been going on for decades, constantly trying to one-up each other. It has been a constant tit for tat war. This war has always been present in the relations between the two and even in the relations between other nations. It often involves the retaliatory removal of diplomats or the imposition of sanctions. This nameless war between these two states is bloodless, yet still extremely damaging to those involved. It limits communication and slowly crumbles the few pillars left holding up the idea of peaceful relations.

History of Expulsions

Persona non grata (PNG) is a common term in the international relations sphere that refers to the permanent expulsion of diplomats; the term translates to ‘not welcome’. In the 1961 Vienna Treaty on Diplomatic Relations, Article 9 states that ‘the receiving State may at any time and without having to explain its decision, notify the sending State that the head of the mission or any member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is persona non grata or that any other member of the staff of the mission is not acceptable.’ The article goes into further detail, writing that the state the diplomat belongs to must either recall those considered PNG or terminate their function within the diplomatic mission. Along with this, nations can even consider someone a PNG before they arrive at their assigned station overseas. 

Despite this section stating that the host country does not have to give reason for expulsion, it is often done as a diplomatic courtesy. Oftentimes, if one side’s diplomat is expelled, the other side tends to expel a diplomat of their own. For example, in early March, the United States expelled Russian diplomats to the UN in New York, claiming said diplomats committed espionage. Directly after this, Russia gave the U.S. Embassy information on a number of American diplomats that were being expelled from Russia to counter the U.S.’ actions.

These types of expulsions, known as ‘tit for tat’ moves, have been seen before between the two nations, playing a prominent role during the Cold War. The most notable move by one of these two nations during that time period was when Russia forced the U.S. Embassy to stop employing local Soviet citizens. While this may not sound bad, it consisted of over 200 employees being forced out of work, and these employees were the ones doing the needed groundwork work for the Embassy to fully operate. They were the ones cleaning the floors, mowing the grass, taking out the garbage, and other tasks. The sudden removal of this critical support staff was intended to cripple the embassy, making it less operative. However, the remaining American staff not only carried on with their duties, but created schedules to do the work local hires previously did. This allowed the Embassy to continue its operations, but they were limited in what they could do.

Russian-American Diplomacy in the Present Day

The tit for tat expulsions have emerged again in recent years between the two countries. In early 2021, Russia hit the embassy with the same strategy seen in the Cold War, forcing the U.S. Embassy to stop employing its local staff. While Russia rarely employs locals in its embassies abroad, using this as the reason for banning Russian staff from working with the U.S. Embassy, the American Embassy in Moscow began relying on them. This reliance was due to the Russian government inconsistently handing out visas to American diplomats. Unlike during the Cold War, the Embassy employed local staff to do a wider variety of work, such as working in the Consular Section, Political Section, and Regional Security Office.

I lived in the Embassy twice, each time for two years. In 2014-2016, there were around 1,000 people employed across Russia, in the U.S. Embassy, and in U.S. consulates around Russia. However, during my second tour there from 2019 to 2021, there were only around 120 staff members in the Embassy by late 2021. The consulates in Yekaterinburg and Valdivostok had been closed at this time, so this number of 120 staff members was extremely low, meaning the Embassy struggled to operate. Working as an intern in the U.S. Embassy in Russia, the decision to constantly expel diplomats and ban local hires was ever so present. I had to assist with other sections as they were severely limited and help do tasks that were previously assigned to Russian staff. Even prior to my internship, I remember the struggle of moving to Russia in 2019. After packing out of our home, and temporarily relocating to a hotel before flying to Russia, we had still not received our visas. In fact, we did not receive our visas until a few days prior to our flight. This lack of visas was the reasoning behind the shuttering of consulates Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok.

The ban of local staff cut the U.S. Embassy’s consular section, the department that provides American visa services, among other services, by 75%. As the consulates in Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok have been closed, making Embassy Moscow the only U.S. diplomatic post in Russia, non-diplomatic visa services are no longer offered anywhere in the country. The State Department’s own website issues a warning to American citizens within Russia, stating its ability to assist U.S. citizens is severely limited. This severe limitation was caused by the forced staff cutback.

Consequences of Counter-Expulsions

These constant expulsions only do harm to both the presence of diplomats in Russia and the overall efforts of diplomacy between two countries. By expelling diplomats, communication between these two countries is heavily limited, as diplomats posted domestically and overseas lay the groundwork for leading officials to meet and discuss issues. When communication is limited and when there is no diplomatic representation, mistakes are more likely to happen, and escalatory moves occur more often. These occurrences are not limited between these two nations, and in fact occur throughout the world. While diplomatic expulsions are understandable at times, by conducting tit for tat retaliatory moves, relations only worsen further.