The French Consulate was the second diplomatic mission to open in Kharkiv. Not long ago, I found an extremely interesting document in the State Archives of the Kharkiv Region titled “On the Establishment of the French Consulate in the City of Kharkiv,” dated May 28, 1899. I believe it is important for studying the history of our beloved city and region. The document describes in detail all the reasons behind the establishment of France’s diplomatic mission in Kharkiv.
The very idea of opening a French consulate in our city came from the grandson of the legendary Marshal Lannes, one of the most outstanding military commanders of the illustrious Napoleonic generation, who bore the honorary nickname “Roland” in the French army.
So, from 1891 to 1902, the renowned diplomat Gustave Louis Lann, Marquis de Montebello, served as the French ambassador to St. Petersburg.
A particularly interesting aspect of this story is a letter dated May 28, 1899, from Herman Augustovich von Tobizen, then governor of Kharkiv, to Prince Pyotr Dmitrievich Svyatopolk-Mirsky—whom we have already met— the governor of Yekaterinoslav.
According to Count Montebello, the French ambassador to the Russian Court, there are plans to establish a French consulate in Kharkiv. The basis for this proposal is the fact that Kharkiv is a major center of commercial and financial activity for the southern industrial region, to which many French enterprises in the South gravitate for trade purposes. The information I have gathered on this subject fully confirms the advisability of establishing a French consulate in Kharkiv.
Although there are no French enterprises in Kharkiv itself or in the Kharkiv Governorate—they are concentrated mainly in the neighboring Yekaterinoslav Governorate and, to some extent, in the Don Cossack Region—nevertheless, the headquarters, main offices, and key agencies of the largest French mining and metallurgical enterprises are located in Kharkiv.
Here, French companies meet their credit needs through the numerous credit institutions in Kharkiv. According to rough estimates, French companies with industrial and financial interests in Kharkiv represent over 100,000,000 francs of French capital. Such substantial interests must be protected, and this protection can be ensured by the establishment of a French consulate in Kharkiv.
On the path to realizing this undertaking, the only obstacle, it seems, is the fact that there is already a French vice-consulate in the city of Yekaterinoslav, and that, as a result, the French government might find it it unnecessary to establish another consular office at a relatively close distance from the existing one. This obstacle, however, can be overcome by upgrading the Yekaterinoslav vice-consulate to a consulate and relocating it to Kharkiv, where the significant interests of French industrialists in the South are concentrated.
In early June, a reply arrived from Prince Svyatopolk-Mirsky. In it, Pyotr Dmitrievich, for his part, saw absolutely no obstacles to the abolition of the vice-consulate and also acknowledged that our beloved city was a more suitable location for the interests of French industry.
And from a document submitted by the governor of Kharkiv to the Minister of the Interior in June, we can learn about other interesting reasons for the establishment of a French consulate in our city. For example, many French enterprises were located near railroad lines with direct access to Kharkiv. And also:
It should also be taken into account that the intellectual and material amenities of major urban centers—among which Kharkiv will undoubtedly be counted—attract families of employees working for French companies. Moreover, these families spend a significant part of the year in Kharkiv, since, while enjoying the benefits of city life, at the same time, thanks to convenient transportation links, they are not deprived of the opportunity to see, more or less frequently, those of their compatriots who, by virtue of their duties, are compelled to maintain a permanent residence at the location of their companies’ operations
It was also noted that the local French community, “which until recently had been insignificant,” established the “French Charitable Society” in our city in 1876, which operated its own almshouse. And the beautifully furnished Catholic church met the spiritual needs not only of the local French community but also of their compatriots from other cities.
After von Tobizen made inquiries with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Internal Relations, it turned out that the only obstacle to the implementation of de Montebello’s proposals was the existence of the aforementioned vice-consulate in Yekaterinoslav. It was soon abolished. The French diplomatic mission there was reorganized into a consulate, and a vice-consulate was opened in Kharkiv to assist it.
And on November 30, 1899, based on a report from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the French citizen Stéphane Lavolle was appointed vice-consul of France in our city.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Kharkiv’s economic importance had grown to such an extent that, pursuant to a decree issued by the President of the French Republic on August 20, 1908, the Kharkiv vice-consulate was upgraded to a consulate. The then-Vice Consul, Ludwig Laurentievich Rabu, was promoted to the rank of consul, and his jurisdiction came to include not only the Kharkiv Governorate but also the Yekaterinoslav Governorate. Subsequently, the French consuls residing in Kharkiv also assumed jurisdiction over the Kursk and Voronezh regions, as well as the Don Cossack Region.
Quite a few sites and mansions associated with the activities of both the diplomatic mission itself and the French community in our city—which played an important role in advancing French interests—have survived to this day. But that is an entirely different story, parts of which have yet to be uncovered in archival documents.
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