The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Lima is the official

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 ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

to the

Republic of Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. It served as the embassy of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

from its inauguration until the country's dissolution in 1991.

History

Background

Peru and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

first established

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

on May 16, 1874. Said relations were handled by the Peruvian Minister Plenipotentiary, based in the legation in

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 ...

and also accredited to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. With the

execution of the Romanov family The abdicated Russian Imperial Romanov family (Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse), Alexandra Feodorovna, and their five children: Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, Olga, Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikola ...

and the downfall of the

Russian Republic The Russian Republic,. referred to as the Russian Democratic Federative Republic in the 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state which controlled, ''de jure'', the territory of the former Russian Empire after its proclamation by the Rus ...

as a result of 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 ...

, both countries ceased to have any diplomatic relations in 1918.

Soviet Embassy (1970–1991)

After the establishment of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and the establishment of a Peruvian seat of honor in 1942, then president

Manuel Prado Ugarteche Manuel Carlos Prado y Ugarteche (21 April 1889 – 15 August 1967) was a Peruvian politician and banker who served twice as president of Peru. Son of former President Mariano Ignacio Prado, he was born in Lima and served as the nation's 43rd ...

personally refused to host a Soviet diplomatic mission in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, also refusing to send an ambassador to the

. Only after the coup that deposed

Fernando Belaúnde Fernando Sergio Marcelo Marcos Belaúnde Terry (October 7, 1912 – June 4, 2002) was a Peruvian politician who twice served as President of Peru (1963–1968 and 1980–1985). Deposed by a military coup in 1968, he was re-elected in 1980 after ...

and allowed

Juan Velasco Alvarado Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado (June 16, 1910 – December 24, 1977) was a Peruvian Army general, general who served as the President of Peru after a successful 1968 Peruvian coup d'état, coup d'état against Fernando Belaúnde's presidency ...

to establish his so-called revolutionary government were relations reestablished at an embassy level in 1969, alongside other socialist countries. With relations reestablished, the

Soviet government The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority, the All-Union Supreme Soviet. It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 199 ...

bought a manor in Orrantia Del Mar, a borough of the upper-class San Isidro district that originally belonged to Anita Fernandini de Naranjo and would eventually become the embassy in 1970. In 1975, after Alvarado announced the '' Plan Inca'', a rationing plan in line with the government's attempts at implementing

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

policies, a unique type of protests took place outside of the embassy, as several cars with covered license plates drove by the building, with their occupants hurling rocks at the embassy and driving away. With the

internal conflict In narrative, an internal conflict is the struggle occurring within a character's mind. Things such as what the character yearns for, but can't quite reach. As opposed to external conflict, in which a character is grappling some force outside of ...

between the Peruvian government and leftist guerrillas beginning in 1980, both the Soviet Embassy and Soviet citizens became targets of these terror groups. Because Soviet–Peruvian relations had strengthened after

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

's rise to power, guerrillas such as the

Shining Path The Shining Path (, SL), self-named the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a far-left political party and guerrilla group in Peru, following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the group as the ...

attacked the embassy several times due to the former's support of the latter against the group. In 1985, the embassy was bombed alongside the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

and

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

embassies, and the following year, Shining Path terrorists almost bombed the building from the inside. The embassy was again bombed in October 1989, being preceded by a car bomb attack that targeted Soviet sailors in

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

Russian Embassy (1991–present)

With the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991, Peru recognised the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

as its successor state on 26 December 1991, with the embassy now representing the new Russian state. In February 2022, after the Russian invasion of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, protests were held in front of the embassy by both locals and Ukrainian residents in Lima.

Cultural Centre

The Russian–Peruvian Cultural Centre (), formerly the Soviet–Peruvian Cultural Centre () until 1991, is the embassy's

cultural centre A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Africa * ...

, located at the Casa Rusa, located at the intersection of General Santa Cruz Avenue and Jirón Mayta Cápac, which runs parallel to Salaverry Avenue. It operates under the

Rossotrudnichestvo The Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation or Rossotrudnichestvo is an autonomous Russian government of Russia, federal government agency under the ...

agency, having originally operated under the SSOD of the Soviet Union.

References

{{Lima landmarks