‘In Spirit I’m a Trans-Uralian’: Russia’s Gdańsk Consul General on Poland and Blogging

Sergei Semyonov recently lived in Gdańsk, Poland, where he headed the Russian Consulate General. After the Poles closed the diplomatic mission in December 2025, he had to move to Moscow. Despite having spent more than 23 years abroad, the diplomat has not forgotten his small homeland — Kurgan Oblast. In his new video blog on Instagram (an extremist organization whose activities are banned in Russia), which Sergei started at the age of 64, he also spoke about his hometown of Shadrinsk and the village of Shmakovo, where he grew up and received his first education.

A correspondent from 45.RU met with Sergei Semyonov during his vacation in the Trans-Urals to talk about his diplomatic career, life in Poland, and how to become a video blogger at 64.

Machinist and Diplomat

Sergei Semyonov was born in Shadrinsk, where he began his studies, but later his father was transferred closer to Kurgan, to the village of Shmakovo. He was the director of the Shmakovo Vocational School for 13 years and is now an honorary citizen of Ketovsky District.

— Even Mongols once studied there. Recently, there was a visit of a Mongolian delegation to Kurgan, and some of them had studied at that school and went there. They had a nostalgic meeting 50 years later, — recalls Sergei, adding that he himself also graduated from Shmakovo Vocational School fifty years ago.

The future diplomat trained as a machinist, specializing in earthmoving machinery. Because the school had good teachers of history and social studies, Sergei began to take an interest in world politics and international relations.

— In my second year at the vocational school, I decided I would apply to the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). The first time, I missed one point in the entrance exams. I had to return and get a job. I worked for a year, improved my foreign language, and the second time I succeeded. In 1980, I entered MGIMO.

After graduating, five years later, Sergei Semyonov was already working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. By his calculations, he has been working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs system for nearly 40 years. He rose from a simple reference secretary to Consul General of the Russian Federation. He holds the diplomatic rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, awarded by the president in 2024. For the last four and a half years, he headed the Russian Consulate General in Gdańsk, until its closure.

In Poland, work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is carried out on a rotation basis. Part of the time is spent working at the ministry, then an overseas assignment. This is usually four or five years. Then you return and work at the ministry again, and then go abroad again. Sergei Semyonov’s career included five Polish assignments. He still holds the position of Consul General, although he lives in Moscow. He is waiting to be transferred to another position. And in six months, he will have to retire upon reaching the age of 65.

Translation Difficulties

Before becoming Consul General, Sergei Semyonov also served as an interpreter for the country’s top officials. He doesn’t recall any particularly amusing incidents. Once, due to a protocol mix-up, Sergei failed to get into the car of our foreign minister, who had arrived in Poland on a visit. He had to urgently catch up with the motorcade by taxi. Fortunately, the official talks only began the next day.

— Sometimes there were difficulties in translation. For example, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, during a visit to Poland — he was invited to the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II in 2009 — spoke at a conference. He spoke live, and I did simultaneous interpretation. Then he came out with the expression: “A dried-up bun with scraped-out raisins.” That was, of course, not easy to translate, but I managed somehow, — recalls Semyonov.

The diplomat recalls Ivan Rybkin, the Speaker of the State Duma in the 1990s, because he loved to sprinkle proverbs and sayings left and right. It’s not always possible to find suitable equivalents in meaning, and if you translate literally, the meaning of the expression may be lost.

It was easiest to translate Boris Yeltsin. The first president of Russia was in no hurry, spoke slowly, and you could translate everything at a leisurely pace.

— It was harder, for example, with the late Prime Minister Chernomyrdin, because he had a very specific manner of speaking. He could say something emotional with a sound. And what did he say? What needed to be conveyed to the interlocutor? That was the hardest part.

No Need to Get Used to Life in Poland

Sergei says that in everyday life there are no fundamental differences between our countries, because Poland is a European, Slavic country, part of it was in the Russian Empire for more than 100 years, and then the Polish People’s Republic was part of the socialist bloc after World War II.

— Catholicism in Poland is probably the most fundamental difference. Other than that, we have a lot in common in terms of history and culture. There was no long period of getting used to it. Especially since we were prepared at the institute; we studied Polish history, culture, and literature. At the time I started, it was still the Soviet Union. The Polish People’s Republic was our friend, partner, and ally. The attitude towards us was completely different then. We were invited to all meetings, they consulted with us, they actively interacted with us; it was easy and pleasant to work.

At the turn of eras, the word “people’s” fell out of the name of the state, and the Polish Republic itself became capitalist.

— Of course, it’s not just about the name; it’s about the change of system. Poland left the CMEA and the Warsaw Pact and soon after joined NATO, and from being our ally it unfortunately became first our opponent, and today we say that it is, alas, a hostile country to us, because they openly call us enemies of Poland’s leadership, so this is no longer just an unfriendly country, it is, unfortunately, a hostile state.

At the everyday level, Sergei says, of course, you don’t feel Russophobia. You can safely go to stores and the cinema. His eldest son studied at a gymnasium when they lived in Poland on assignment, and the youngest went to kindergarten. They communicated with other parents and neighbors. They celebrated children’s birthdays and other holidays together.

— But, of course, propaganda in the media did its job, and relations naturally began to change. I would say the turning point was 2014, when the coup took place in Ukraine. Because after that, Poland also began, so to speak, to take a fundamentally different course. All political contacts were interrupted. After 2014, there were no more visits, no invitations; neither did top officials come to us nor did they invite us. And in the press, you could see anti-Russian sentiments beginning. Finally, after the start of the SMO, an information war was simply declared on us. What was in the press cannot be called anything else. It is the most blatant information war with attacks, fakes, and outright lies. Unfortunately, Russophobia has been raised by the Polish government to the rank of state policy.

Sergei clarifies that not everything is so bad. For example, young people, who usually don’t watch television but read news on the internet, see information from different sides.

— Quite a few people in Poland, I won’t say the majority, but quite a few still treat us quite benevolently, — the diplomat concludes.

Had to Close the Consulate General

Sergei got the position of Consul General on a competitive basis. His excellent knowledge of the Polish language — which he learned at MGIMO — and his experience as a diplomat and interpreter, including for top officials, helped. In total, he spent 23 years working in Poland.

Consular service, unlike embassies, the diplomat explains, is focused on working with local authorities and people.

— First of all, the task of the consulate is to protect the rights and interests of Russian citizens abroad. So we worked with people, received all comers and visitors; someone needed to change their passport, someone needed to process a power of attorney or some other notarial act, someone needed to register a child, someone needed to admit children to Russian citizenship if they were born abroad.

In addition to interacting with compatriots, consulate employees had to monitor the cemeteries of Soviet soldiers in Poland and promote the Russian language and culture.

— About 13,000 Russians live in Poland. These are those who have Russian passports. There is also a large layer of people who left mainly in the 90s and who once left Russian citizenship. They were forced to leave to obtain Polish citizenship. They feel like ours because many people came there from Kazakhstan and other Soviet republics. So even if they acquired a Polish passport at some point, they did not stop being Russian-speaking, and many of them consider themselves our compatriots.

There were three consulates general in Poland: Gdańsk, Kraków, and Poznań. The Polish authorities first closed the one in Poznań, then six months later in Kraków. Six months later, in December 2025, the Polish authorities announced the closure of the Consulate General in Gdańsk.

— We were forced to lower the flag. We had to mothball the property and leave Poland, back to Russia. I am, of course, very proud that I managed to head such a unique consular institution, because it is the oldest in Europe and in the world. It is more than three hundred years old, and it was founded by personal order of Peter I. On ships of the Russian fleet, earth from Russia was brought in bags and scattered so that the consulate would stand on Russian soil both literally and figuratively. And I was the last consul general who had to close everything. But I hope this is not forever. Sooner or later, relations with Poland will stabilize and improve, and then the Consulate General will open again.

“A Little Virtual Consulate General”

After the news of the closure of the Consulate General, Sergei decided to start a blog and shoot short vertical videos about his work.

— Consular work is work with people. Unfortunately, after the closure, it was interrupted, and a vacuum formed. To fill the information void, I started a blog at the beginning of this year. Among other things, to resume my work with people. But admittedly, this work is now remote and virtual, because I cannot receive live visitors. But you can communicate with people through social networks, — the novice blogger says.

The theme of the blog became consular work, diplomatic activity, and Russian-Polish relations.

— I hit the mark with the choice of topic, because people were interested, they started writing and reaching out. And the number of subscribers began to grow rapidly. Today, my subscriber count has exceeded 30,000. When I came on vacation three weeks ago, I had 18,500. My video “A Day in the Life of a Consul General” has garnered over 700,000 views. And several clips have surpassed a quarter of a million views.

Sergei receives messages not only from Poland. Young people ask how to get a job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russians from other countries ask for advice on solving their issues, and colleagues support him after the closure of the department. He has to spend several hours a day answering questions.

— My wife helps me shoot the videos, because she is also a diplomat, a candidate of historical sciences. She has a talent for this. We come up with topics together; it seems to be working out well.

The idea of creating a video blog was suggested by colleagues. Sergei uses the internet to apply his energy and rich accumulated experience in diplomacy. He calls his page a “little virtual consulate general.”

He speaks calmly about his increased popularity. Thanks to his growing fame on the internet, the diplomat has already given several interviews to federal media, participates in TV shows, and speaks to students at specialized universities where he is invited.

I Consider Myself a Trans-Uralian in Spirit

Sergei comes to his native Kurgan Oblast twice a year — to Shadrinsk, where he was born and began his studies, to visit the grave of his grandfather who fought at the front, and to Shmakovo, where his father lives and his mother is buried.

— Although I have spent more than 40 years either in Moscow or in Poland, I still consider myself a Trans-Uralian in spirit. My father and brother live here, and I try to come at least twice a year. Previously, I traveled from Gdańsk to Kurgan with three or four transfers, through Kaliningrad, Moscow, and Chelyabinsk. I always flew here in January for a week to visit my mother while she was still alive and my father. And I usually came for two or three weeks in the summer on vacation. Now, with the direct flight, it’s easier — I don’t break the tradition.

The children also come to the Trans-Urals. The eldest son comes less often; he is already an adult, works at a large Moscow company, and has his own child. The last time he came was for his grandfather’s 88th birthday. And the youngest, who is only 6 years old, comes with his parents to Shmakovo.

Sergei says that despite the positive changes in Kurgan in recent years, his native village is experiencing hard times. After the collapse of the USSR, many enterprises closed, including those on which rural life depended. The vocational school became a branch of the Kurgan Technological College, but the former scale is gone.

He is not in Kurgan often, mostly at home with his father. But sometimes he manages to get away for a motocross training session. The future diplomat began to take an interest in motorcycle racing while still at the vocational school. His first competition was in Zaborok in 1977. During his studies in Moscow, he had to take a break. Everything at MGIMO was too serious.

— Later, working in Poland, I remembered my dream, bought a motorcycle there, and continued. I even took part in amateur competitions and took 10th place. After 2022, the Poles banned Russians from participating in competitions. So I moved my cross-country motorcycle, a Yamaha 250, to the Kurgan club and train here. My younger brother Pavel is a professional motorcycle racer, competing in Russian veteran championships.

Despite years of living in the capital and in European Poland, Sergei Semyonov has not stopped loving the Trans-Urals.

— Love for the homeland cannot be explained. I was raised in a different country; this love was instilled in us with our mother’s milk. For me, the collapse of the USSR was the greatest tragedy, because I still consider the Soviet Union my homeland. And I still have the spirit of Kurgan Oblast. In Moscow, I still feel like a Trans-Uralian. I may have ten Moscow registrations, but I was born here, studied here, and was raised here. When I return to Kurgan, to Shadrinsk, to Shmakovo, I feel like I am on my native land; here I replenish my inner energy and strength.