The Consulate-General of the United Kingdom in Saint Petersburg was part of the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

of the United Kingdom in the Russian Federation, before it was closed down in 2018. It was located on in Tsentralny District. The last British

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

in Saint Petersburg was

Monika Sangeeta Ahuja Monika may refer to: People and fictional characters *Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club!), Monika, main antagonist of Doki Doki Literature Club! * Monika (given name) * Mounika, an Indian film actress Films * Monika (1938 film), ''Monika'' (1938 ...

; she was appointed to the post in February 2017, and arrived there in December of the same year.

History

Before the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

of 1917, the British embassy in Russia was seated in Saint Petersburg, in a palace overlooking the Troitsky Bridge. Diplomatic relations were then broken off. In 1924, after the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, Great Britain was the first foreign power to recognize the new Soviet government, sending an ambassador in 1924. However, he was provided with a palace at Boloto, on the Island, or ''Zamoskvorechye'', near the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

in Moscow. The British embassy remained there until 2000. As the Russian Federation replaced the Soviet Union, the British Consulate-General in St. Petersburg was re-opened, and

Barbara Hay Dame Barbara Logan Hay (born 20 January 1953) is a Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service, British diplomat who served as List of Consuls-General of the United Kingdom in Los Angeles, Consul-General in Los Angeles from July 2009 to August 2013. Educa ...

was appointed as its first new Consul-General in 1992. The consulate would go on to operate for 26 years. In 1997, the Consulate coordinated the British program of events in St. Petersburg dedicated to the three hundredth anniversary of

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

's Embassy to Great Britain. Throughout its work, the Consulate supported such traditional cultural events as the "Days of Scottish Culture in St. Petersburg", held annually since 1971. In 2018, in response to the UK's decision to expel 23 Russian diplomats following the

poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal The poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, also known as the Salisbury poisoning, was a botched assassination attempt to poison Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies in the cit ...

, Russia closed the Consulate-General, while also expelling 23 British diplomats and closing the office of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

in Russia.

List of Consuls-General

Other locations in Russia

The British

Consulate-General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

is still operational, as well as the

Embassy of the United Kingdom in Moscow The Embassy of the United Kingdom in Moscow is the chief diplomatic mission of the United Kingdom in the Russian Federation. It is located in the Arbat District of Moscow, on Smolenskaya Embankment of the river Moskva. The current ambassador is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Consulate-General of the United Kingdom, Saint Petersburg 1992 establishments in Russia 2018 disestablishments in Russia Defunct diplomatic missions

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Russia–United Kingdom relations

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Tsentralny District, Saint Petersburg

History

List of Consuls-General

Other locations in Russia

See also

References