Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, United Nations and General International Matters, Volume XI

41. Note From the Soviet Mission at the United Nations to the United States Mission at the United Nations¹

New York, November 21, 1956.

The USSR Mission to UN presents its compliments to the US Mission and, further to its (own) note #483 of October 29th,² has the honor to communicate the following:

Beginning on October 23rd, mobs of hostile elements gather regularly each day at the USSR Delegation building in New York and conduct anti-Soviet demonstrations. Crowds of malicious hooligans block the entrance of the Mission building to employees, raining abuses on them. Instances occurred where hooligans who were gathered at the building shouted indecent remarks in Russian and English addressed at diplomatic representatives arriving at the Soviet Delegation building for meetings with the chief of the USSR 11th General Assembly delegation.

On November 19th a group of people, breaking off from a picket line, hindered (prevented) a diplomat of a UN member country from getting into a taxi on leaving the Soviet Mission building.

On November 7th, during a diplomatic reception on the occasion of the USSR national holiday, a crowd of malicious hooligans gathered on the adjacent sidewalks and also directly at entrance of the Mission building hindered the entrance of invited guests. Swearing, shrieks and various kinds of threats were also addressed at them. In the Mission building windows were broken on the first and second stories of the working offices and the walls of the building were soiled with paint.

The USSR Mission to UN, in informing the US Mission to UN of this matter, considers it necessary also to bring the attention of the US Mission to the fact that each such demonstration at the building of the USSR Mission to UN, by elements hostile to the Soviet Union, is favorably lighted in the pages of the American press and radio, which often directly incites the conducting of such demonstrations hostile to the Soviet Union.

The conducting of daily hostile demonstrations at the building of the USSR Mission to UN hinders the normal diplomatic work of the Soviet Mission to UN. They also create a threat to the safety of Mission employees.

The USSR Mission to UN notes that the measures taken by the New York City police authorities are clearly insufficient for the protection of the USSR Mission to UN from hostile demonstrations conducted in the immediate vicinity of the Mission building.

The reason for this appears in the first place to be that the American authorities concerned allow the conduct of daily demonstrations directly at the Mission building and its entrance.

As a result of the stated (facts), the USSR Mission to UN requests the US Mission to UN to take measures, through the competent American authorities, to prevent the occurrence of such hostile demonstrations on the sidewalks in the immediate vicinity of the building and entrance of the USSR Mission to UN and thus to enable the USSR Mission to UN to fulfill its diplomatic functions, as guaranteed by the Headquarters Agreement between the US Government and the UN.

1. Source: USUN Files, IO, Dels, USSR. A notation on the source text reads: “Direct Translation: USSR Mission Note #518” with the date.
2. Not found; a summary was transmitted in telegram 440 from New York, October 29, which stated in part that the Soviet note charged “attempts by demonstrators in front of Soviet delegation office on October 28 to damage delegation office. Note also protests against other demonstrations during past week.” The telegram added that “USUN has requested full police report re Soviet charges.” (Department of State, Central Files, 310.361/10–2956)