Konstantin Umansky
Encyclopedia
Konstantin Aleksandrovich Umansky , was a Soviet diplomat
, editor
, journalist
and artist
.
; he began studies at Moscow University in 1918, and joined the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1919.
From August to October 1922 Umansky worked in the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs. His ability to learn new languages, of which he was said to be able to learn a new language in a month, and spoke Russian
, French
, Italian
, German
and English
, gained him a position with the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union
as a correspondent, which took him abroad to places including Rome
, Paris
and Geneva
. Working for TASS from 1922–1931, there were rumours that his career in journalism was mixed with secret police
activities, but Umansky refused to answer questions on this subject, stating only, "It is beneath my dignity to answer such a question."
From 1931 to 1936 Umansky worked in the Press and Information Department of the Soviet People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, first as its Deputy Head, and then as its Head.
In 1936, Umansky was posted to Washington, D.C.
where he was an Adviser at the Soviet Embassy. When the diplomatic mission of Alexander Troyanovsky was completed, Umansky acted as chargé d'affaires
of the embassy, when on 11 May 1939, Umansky was appointed by Joseph Stalin
as Ambassador of the Soviet Union to the United States and he presented his Letters of Credence to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
on 6 June 1939, becoming, at the time, the youngest Ambassador in Washington, D.C..
Upon his return to Moscow
, he worked at the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs. Promoted to the diplomatic rank
of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on 14 June 1943, Umansky was appointed by Stalin on 17 June 1943 as Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Mexico. Umansky presented his credentials to President of Mexico
, Manuel Ávila Camacho
on 22 June 1943. At the ceremony of the presentation of credentials, Umansky presented his speech in English, for which he apologised to Camacho, promising that he would learn Spanish
; which he became fluent in just three months later. The reasons for the posting of a diplomat the calibre of Umansky to Mexico was unclear, and it had been suggested on numerous occasions that Umansky was posted to Mexico as part of undercover activities, however, TIME
noted that Umansky's behaviour as a diplomat was always above reproach. However, according to Cordell Hull
:
It has also been suggested that Umansky was posted to Mexico as part of a campaign to improve perceptions of the Soviet Union, which had taken a battering following the murder of Leon Trotsky
in Mexico in 1940. According to Germán List Arzubide
, Umansky was the most popular diplomat in Mexico. Due to the efforts of Umansky, by the end of 1944 Soviet–Mexico relations
had regained a friendly character, and both countries intended to expanded their relations in the post-war period.
On 8 July 1944, Umansky was appointed as Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Costa Rica, in concurrence with his posting in Mexico
. On 25 January 1945, Umansky was to have travelled to San José
in Costa Rica
to present his Letters of Credence to Costa Rican President Teodoro Picado Michalski
, however the Mexican Air Force
plane which he was aboard crashed on take-off in Mexico City
, killing the Ambassador, his wife (Raisa Umanskaya) and three embassy officials. The cause of the crash is still unknown to this day, and following the crash tens of thousands of Mexicans paid their respects to Umansky at the Soviet Embassy, led by President Camacho. In an obituary
, Mexican newspaper Excélsior
wrote "With Umansky, a new era in local diplomatic activity has begun. Many foreign diplomats have passed through Mexico, but those whom were here at that time, should recognise that they lived in the diplomatic world of the Umansky era".
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.
Biography
Umansky, who was Jewish, was born in MykolaivMykolaiv
Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...
; he began studies at Moscow University in 1918, and joined the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1919.
From August to October 1922 Umansky worked in the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs. His ability to learn new languages, of which he was said to be able to learn a new language in a month, and spoke Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, gained him a position with the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union
Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union
The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union , was the central agency for collection and distribution of internal and international news for all Soviet newspapers, radio and television stations...
as a correspondent, which took him abroad to places including Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. Working for TASS from 1922–1931, there were rumours that his career in journalism was mixed with secret police
State Political Directorate
The State Political Directorate was the secret police of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1934...
activities, but Umansky refused to answer questions on this subject, stating only, "It is beneath my dignity to answer such a question."
From 1931 to 1936 Umansky worked in the Press and Information Department of the Soviet People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, first as its Deputy Head, and then as its Head.
In 1936, Umansky was posted to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
where he was an Adviser at the Soviet Embassy. When the diplomatic mission of Alexander Troyanovsky was completed, Umansky acted as chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
of the embassy, when on 11 May 1939, Umansky was appointed by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
as Ambassador of the Soviet Union to the United States and he presented his Letters of Credence to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
on 6 June 1939, becoming, at the time, the youngest Ambassador in Washington, D.C..
Upon his return to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, he worked at the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs. Promoted to the diplomatic rank
Diplomatic rank
Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Over time it has been formalized on an international basis.-Ranks:...
of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on 14 June 1943, Umansky was appointed by Stalin on 17 June 1943 as Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Mexico. Umansky presented his credentials to President of Mexico
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
, Manuel Ávila Camacho
Manuel Ávila Camacho
Manuel Ávila Camacho served as the President of Mexico from 1940 to 1946.Manuel Ávila was born in the city of Teziutlán, a small town in Puebla, to middle-class parents, Manuel Ávila Castillo and Eufrosina Camacho Bello. He had several siblings, among them sister María Jovita Ávila Camacho and...
on 22 June 1943. At the ceremony of the presentation of credentials, Umansky presented his speech in English, for which he apologised to Camacho, promising that he would learn Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
; which he became fluent in just three months later. The reasons for the posting of a diplomat the calibre of Umansky to Mexico was unclear, and it had been suggested on numerous occasions that Umansky was posted to Mexico as part of undercover activities, however, TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
noted that Umansky's behaviour as a diplomat was always above reproach. However, according to Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...
:
It has also been suggested that Umansky was posted to Mexico as part of a campaign to improve perceptions of the Soviet Union, which had taken a battering following the murder of Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
in Mexico in 1940. According to Germán List Arzubide
Germán List Arzubide
Germán List Arzubide was a Mexican poet and revolutionary.Born in Puebla, he was an active participant in the Revolution, fighting alongside Emiliano Zapata as well as extolling him and other revolutionary leaders in his poetry...
, Umansky was the most popular diplomat in Mexico. Due to the efforts of Umansky, by the end of 1944 Soviet–Mexico relations
Mexico–Russia relations
Mexican-Russian relations are good and constructive. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established in 1890. Mexico has an embassy in Moscow. Russia has an embassy in Mexico City...
had regained a friendly character, and both countries intended to expanded their relations in the post-war period.
On 8 July 1944, Umansky was appointed as Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Costa Rica, in concurrence with his posting in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. On 25 January 1945, Umansky was to have travelled to San José
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
to present his Letters of Credence to Costa Rican President Teodoro Picado Michalski
Teodoro Picado Michalski
Teodoro Picado Michalski was the President of Costa Rica from 1944 to 1948.-Overview:Teodoro Picado governed Costa Rica immediately after the presidency of Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia and preceded the de facto junta of José Figueres...
, however the Mexican Air Force
Mexican Air Force
The Mexican Air Force is the aviation branch of the Mexican Army and depends on the National Defense Secretariat . Since 2008, its commander is Gen...
plane which he was aboard crashed on take-off in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, killing the Ambassador, his wife (Raisa Umanskaya) and three embassy officials. The cause of the crash is still unknown to this day, and following the crash tens of thousands of Mexicans paid their respects to Umansky at the Soviet Embassy, led by President Camacho. In an obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
, Mexican newspaper Excélsior
Excélsior
Excélsior is a daily newspaper, founded by Rafael Alducin and published in Mexico City since 1917.During the 1950s and 1960s, the newspaper's editorial stance was of a relatively liberal bent, under the editorship of Julio Scherer...
wrote "With Umansky, a new era in local diplomatic activity has begun. Many foreign diplomats have passed through Mexico, but those whom were here at that time, should recognise that they lived in the diplomatic world of the Umansky era".