page_title: Museum of Diplomatic Corps
section_title: History of the museum
hierarchical_section_title: Museum of Diplomatic Corps / History of the museum
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Александр Владимирович Быков English: Alexandr Bykov, russian historian-numismatist
context_page_description: The Museum of Diplomatic Corps is a private historical museum located in Russian city Vologda. It is situated in a wooden manor that belonged to a noble Pavel Puzan-Puzyrevsky where, in 1918, the American Embassy was quartered. The exposition of the museum is devoted to little known events which took place in Vologda in February–July 1918, and is connected with a stay of 11 foreign embassies and diplomatic missions headed by the American Ambassador David Rowland Francis.
  Museum was closed on 4 November 2012.
context_section_description: In 1996, a Vologda historian Alexander Bykov started compiling information about the diplomatic corps’ stay in Vologda. He succeeded in gathering a number of household items and copies of valuable documents, mainly from local archives and from the private archive of David R. Francis in Saint-Louis.
  
  On July 16, 1997, Bykov organized an exhibition called "Foreign embassies in Vologda in 1918" in the same country manor.  This date is considered the official foundation of the museum which, presently, is still located in the house of Puzan-Puzyrevsky. 
  
  Soon, Alexandr Bykov managed to gain access to the materials of the French diplomatic archive and to the criminal investigation department archive of the Federal Security Service of Russia . He took copies of valuable documents concerning activities of the French embassy in Vologda. Owing to those materials, on June 25, 1998, the exposition was enlarged with the direct support and participation of the U.S. government. The American Ambassador James F. Collins took part in the opening ceremony of the two halls of the Museum of Diplomatic Corps.
  Since then, the museum has made "friends" with relatives of the events of 1918. They became honorary guests of the museum.  These "friends" include:
  Talton Francis Ray — businessman, grandson of the American Ambassador to Russia in 1916-1918 David R. Francis;
  Sir Chips Keswick — grandson of the British representative F.O. Lindley;
  Tania Rose — daughter of the correspondent of "The Manchester Guardian" Philip Price;
  Jean Dulce — grandson of the French representative Jean Dulce.
  Other honorary guests of the museum include famous Russian and foreign figures:
  Prince Michael of Kent — member of the English royal house;
  Baron Eduard von Falz-Fein – famous Russian-born businessman from Liechtenstein;
  James H. Billington – director of the Library of the United States Congress;
  James F. Collins - U.S. diplomat and ambassador to Russia in 1997-2001;
  Sir Rodric Braithwaite - ambassador of the United Kingdom to Russia in 1988-1992.
  other representatives of the American, British, French, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian, Canadian, and Hungarian embassies
  Norman E. Saul – historian, author of a capital work in three volumes on history of Russian-American relations;
  Harper Barnes – historian, official biographer of D.R. Francis;
  Alexander Korzhakov – head of B.N. Eltsin’s security service in 1990-1996;
  Nikita Belykh – leader of the "Union of Rightist Forces" (2005-2008), governor of the Kirov Oblast (since 2009);
  Permanent correspondents of the museum include professors of well known institutes, universities, museums, and libraries of the world.
caption: Alexander Bykov is the founder and current director of the museum
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