1. Konstantin Aleksandrovich Umansky was a Soviet diplomat, editor, journalist and artist.
13 Facts About Konstantin Umansky
1. 2.
From August to October 1922, Konstantin Umansky worked in the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs.
3.
From 1931 to 1936, Konstantin 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.
4.
In 1936, Konstantin Umansky was posted to Washington, DC where he was an Adviser at the Soviet Embassy.
5.
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 US President Franklin D Roosevelt on 6 June 1939, becoming, at the time, the youngest Ambassador in Washington, DC.
6.
At least one historian identified this source as Konstantin Umansky based upon communications from US Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles.
7.
Konstantin Umansky clashed with Franklin D Roosevelt when the Soviet Union sought to buy US war materiel in September 1941.
8.
The historian Ian Kershaw wrote "When the unpalatable Soviet ambassador, Konstantin Oumansky, proved stubborn, unaccommodating and unwilling to acknowledge that gold reserves could be used to cover payments, an angry and frustrated Roosevelt described him in a Cabinet meeting as 'a dirty little liar' ".
9.
Konstantin Umansky presented his credentials to President of Mexico, Manuel Avila Camacho on 22 June 1943.
10.
At the ceremony of the presentation of credentials, Konstantin Umansky presented his speech in English, for which he apologised to Camacho, promising that he would learn Spanish; he became fluent in just three months.
11.
On 8 July 1944 Konstantin Umansky was appointed Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Costa Rica, in concurrence with his posting in Mexico.
12.
On 25 January 1945 Konstantin Umansky was to travel to San Jose in Costa Rica to present his Letters of Credence to Costa Rican President Teodoro Picado Michalski, but the Mexican Air Force plane which he was aboard crashed on take-off in Mexico City, killing the Ambassador, his wife and three embassy officials.
13.
Konstantin Umansky body was cremated and his ashes were buried at Novodevichy Cemetery.