{"record":{"aliases":["Konstantin Gavrilovich Katakazi","Constantine Catacazy","Константин Гаврилович Катакази"],"appointmentIds":["russia-8730fa002dbb55"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/konstantin-catacazy-72d7d9e2a1/","countrySlug":"russia","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/konstantin-catacazy-72d7d9e2a1/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Konstantin Catacazy (1828–1890) graduated from the Richelieu Lyceum and entered the Foreign Ministry’s Asian Department in 1848. An early assignment in Brazil was followed by Washington, where he served as a junior secretary and briefly headed the mission after Alexander Bodisco’s death in 1854. Later posts in Hanover and Lisbon preceded work as a close assistant to Chancellor Alexander Gorchakov.","His interest in American affairs continued in St. Petersburg. Near the end of the Civil War he argued that Russia should favor restoration of the American Union as a counterweight to Britain. Sent back to Washington as minister in 1869, he was instructed to seek American support for Russia’s position in the Black Sea.","His relations with the Grant administration deteriorated sharply. In his December 1871 annual message, President Ulysses S. Grant accused Catacazy of abusing American officials and interfering with U.S. relations with other powers. Grant said he had requested the minister’s recall and had ceased receiving him. He nevertheless distinguished the dispute from relations with Russia and welcomed the visit of Grand Duke Alexei.","Catacazy published a defense of his conduct after leaving Washington and was dismissed from Russian service in 1872. Gorchakov subsequently told American minister James L. Orr that he had valued Catacazy’s ability but regretted his behavior in Washington. Catacazy returned to service as a counselor in Paris in 1884. He remained there until his death in 1890 and was buried at Passy."],"id":"russia:konstantin catacazy","identifiers":{},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-72d7d9e2a18e4d9d81f2.html","name":"Konstantin Catacazy","notes":[{"sourceIds":["catacazy-grant","mission-aa1f0eeda53e1db3578b","mission-861afcbc3e63b5a8f8b4","mission-c5e600d2a9321cec0767"],"text":"The United States ended official dealings with Catacazy in 1871; Russia recalled him in 1872."}],"paragraphSources":[["catacazy-reference"],["catacazy-reference"],["catacazy-grant"],["catacazy-reference","catacazy-orr"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-72d7d9e2a18e4d9d81f2.html","relatedEvents":[],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"41ea0415af28a52e","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"","id":"catacazy-reference","locator":"Career narrative","publisher":"Russian Diplomats biographical reference","title":"Константин Гаврилович Катакази","type":"reference","url":"https://rusdiplomats.narod.ru/katakazi-kg.html"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"","id":"catacazy-grant","locator":"Russia and Catacazy paragraphs","publisher":"American Presidency Project, University of California Santa Barbara","title":"Ulysses S. Grant, Third Annual Message, December 4, 1871","type":"primary-record","url":"https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/third-annual-message-11"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"","id":"catacazy-orr","locator":"1873, Part I, volume II, document 31, printed no. 337","publisher":"U.S. Department of State, FRUS","title":"Mr. Orr to Mr. Fish, March 18, 1873","type":"primary-record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1873p1v2/d31"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 26 October 2026","id":"mission-aa1f0eeda53e1db3578b","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"CoM coverage audit: Russian ministerial chronology","type":"Mission record","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambassadors_of_Russia_to_the_United_States"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 27 October 2026","id":"mission-861afcbc3e63b5a8f8b4","locator":"Describes the traditional tricolor, nineteenth-century coexistence with imperial colors, 1896 national confirmation, use until 1918, and the 1991/1993 changes in shades and proportions. Historical flags use illustrative colors; exact historical shades remain unresolved.","publisher":"","title":"Presidential Library — history of the Russian flag","type":"Mission record","url":"https://www.prlib.ru/gosudarstvennaya-simvolika-flag-rossiyskoy-federacii"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 27 October 2026","id":"mission-c5e600d2a9321cec0767","locator":"Proceedings of the International Congress of Vexillology: black–yellow–white introduced in 1858; white–blue–red continued in use and received renewed official recognition in 1883. The database uses black–yellow–white consistently as an Imperial Russia emblem, while this source documents the historical variation.","publisher":"","title":"Platoff and Knowlton — Old Flags, New Meanings","type":"Mission record","url":"https://steven-knowlton.scholar.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf3746/files/old_flags_new_meanings.pdf"}],"topics":["American Civil War","Black Sea","Grant administration","Catacazy affair","Grand Duke Alexei"]},"schemaVersion":1}