Why do we need them all over the place?

What does a consulate in Seattle do for Russia. Opportunity for spies if you ask me....

Helps Seattle folks do business in and travel to Russia. And helps Russians travel to and do business in the Pacific Northwest.

The Russians can spy without consulates. It may be a convenience for spying, but eliminating them would hardly handicap spying.

Seattle has a lot of defense industries and the Nuclear subs are based there as well. Jus sayin that's why I'd be there if I was a russian.

Embassies are the official diplomatic locations for those specific countries. They're located in the capitol of the host country, the ambassador is the head of state representative for that country. Anything that country does, the host country can turn to that embassy for an explanation or, information.

A consulate acts as a satellite office to the embassy, they're usually located where that country has lots of business and handles a large amount of visa processing. Those seeking visa's usually are expats looking to visit the country of their immigration. Los Angeles has a large amount of consulates, mainly serving the entertainment industry looking to conduct business in those countries. Similarly, the Bay Area, mainly San Francisco has a large number consulates either as West Coast establishments or, serving the tech sector business'.

Also keep in mind, diplomatic missions operate on a quid pro quo system. You want more consulates in our country, we want more too. You wanna increase your staff to over 1000 people, we get to do the same. You want to increase the size of your diplomatic pouches, we get to do the same. Consider we have a consulate in Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok...they're not there because of the large number of American expats and tourists.

I guarantee they have a plan for their consulate and embassy locations, we all know Russians don't take a dump without a plan.

That's kinda the problem - they always have a plan for taking a dump, but never have a plan for dealing with the shit.

Here is my perspective as a former expat. I am an American and was living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. For the geographically challenged, this is north of Montana.

The official US embassy was in Ottawa, Ontario. For the geographically challenged, this is north of Syracuse, New York.

There was a US Consulate in Calgary, and I could book an appointment to have US legal documents notarized or I could have my passport renewed. It cost me a few CanadaBucks in parking and petrol, and was much cheaper than going to Ottawa or the USA. For US taxpayers, a consulate is cheaper than an embassy since it’s less staff, smaller building, and a much less ornate of a building.

I can see other G8 countries having consulates in the 25 largest cities in the US for the exact reason as we have consulates in places like Calgary, Alberta.

Approve and rubberstamp your emotional support Chihuahua's health certificate, so you can fly to Murmansk without triggering and creating an episode, comrade.