California Secession Organizers Say They've Opened an Embassy -- in Moscow

Louis Marinelli, a San Diego resident who is the leader of the group promoting an effort to turn the state into an independent country , organized the Moscow event that was publicized on social media, reports The Los Angeles Times.

"We want to start laying the groundwork for a dialogue about an independent California joining the United Nations now," he said in an email Monday.

Marinelli is currently working as an English teacher in Russia, and said he is there working on immigration issues related to his wife, who is a Russian national.

Marinelli said he's not discouraged by the high hurdles.

"All major social and political movements in this country take time and inevitably have to overcome failures and setbacks before they are ultimately successful," he said.