By Yeganeh Torbati and Joel Schectman
CENTREVILLE, Md., Dec 30 (Reuters) - When Soviet officials bought a sprawling waterfront estate in Centreville to be used as a country retreat for diplomats posted to Washington, it rattled residents of this bayside Maryland town. It was 1972, in the deep chill of the Cold War.
People were suspicious of the Soviets and "thought they were spies ... It was the folklore of Centreville," said Joe Dawkins, who works locally in agriculture.
When U.S. tensions were at their highest with the Soviet Union, the Federal Bureau of Investigation kept an office in Centreville, residents said.
The FBI office closed years ago, they said, and over time neighbors in this community of about 4,500 people got used to Russian-accented officials shopping at the liquor store, hunting nearby and dining at a popular Irish pub, O'Shucks.
But in an echo of old local suspicions, President Barack Obama abruptly ordered the compound closed on Thursday, saying it had been "used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes." The Russians have until noon ET (1700 GMT) on Friday to vacate the premises.
A Russian compound in Upper Brookville on Long Island in New York was also ordered closed. The actions were part of a White House response, including the expulsion of 35 suspected Russian spies, to what U.S. officials have called cyber interference by Moscow in this year's U.S. presidential election campaign. The Kremlin has denied the hacking allegations.
On Thursday evening, floodlights beamed over the 45-acre (20-hectare) estate in Maryland and the isolated country road leading to it was blocked by two unmarked vehicles.
In the darkness, a man approached a reporter's car and said the area was private property. He declined to identify himself, saying only that he was American and referring further questions to the U.S. State Department press office.
On Friday morning, men identifying themselves as State Department officials blocked access to the compound and escorted reporters to about a mile (1.6 km) outside the property.
The Maryland estate includes a Georgian-style brick mansion, tennis courts and smaller cottages. It sits on the banks of the Corsica and Chester Rivers, where the locals like to fish, harvest oysters and hunt geese.
The Russian government maintained the Centreville compound after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Property records show the Russian government owns an estate on Town Point Lane in Centreville valued at $8 million for tax purposes.
'WAY TOO MUCH VODKA'
Neighbors said the Russians were a lively bunch, seen water-skiing in summer and known for throwing a large, annual Labor Day party. Each May, to celebrate Russia's Victory Day, marking the defeat of the Nazis in World War Two, the compound hosts a soccer tournament for diplomats from former Soviet republics.