At that time there was a basic difference between the diplomatic and consular services. Accordingly, the appointment criteria were quite different. Some 40 men took part in the consular service in Russia between 1814 and 1848. About 30 of them had the title of consuls, vice-consuls and consular agents, 14 were chiefs of office. Which criteria came first, when selecting personal for consular service in the various regions of the Russian Empire? Was there a difference between the regimes of the Restoration and the July monarchy? The study was based on personal files on consular employees from the diplomatic archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France. It appears that a large number of French consular agents came to their office as they already stayed in the Russian Empire for one reason or another of a personal or business nature. So that they know everyday Russian realities much better than diplomats. However, among the consular agents some had no special ties with Russia before their appointment. They had gone through the schooling organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Recommendations and patronage played also a major part in consular designations. In social terms, the vast majority of consular employees, unlike diplomats, did not belong to the noble class. They came from the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie. But this was not only the case in Russia. Moreover, one should underline the fact that some of them continued a career which they had begun long ago, at the time of Napoleon, another hint of the importance given to the experience in the consular services.