The Embassy of Russia in London is 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 ...

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 ...

in the

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 ...

. The main building and Consular section is located at 5 and 6-7

Kensington Palace Gardens Kensington Palace Gardens is an exclusive street in Kensington, west of central London, near Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace. Entered through gates at either end and guarded by sentry boxes, it was the location of the London Cage, t ...

at the junction with

Bayswater Road Bayswater Road is the main road running along the northern edge of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park in London. Originally part of the A40 road in London, A40 road, it is now designated part of the A402 road. Route In the east, Bayswater Road ...

; the Ambassador's Residence is located in a separate building at

13 Kensington Palace Gardens 13 Kensington Palace Gardens, also known as Harrington House, is the former London Townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Earls of Harrington. It is now the official residence of the List of ambassadors of Russia to the United Kingdom, Rus ...

(Harrington House). Russia also maintains a Defence Attaché's Office at 44 Millfield Lane,

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, and an Office of the Trade Representative at 33 Highgate West Hill, Highgate.

History

The embassy of 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 ...

was located at Chesham Place,

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

; this then functioned as the Embassy of the new

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 1924 to 1927. Diplomatic relations were suspended during the period 1927–1929, and following their resumption the Soviet government moved to the various buildings on Kensington Palace Gardens. In 1946 the Soviet government bought Seacox Heath, a country house in East Sussex, as a weekend retreat for its staff. Following the

dissolution of the USSR Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dissolution'', a 2002 novel by Richard Lee Byers in the War of the Spider Queen series * Dissolution (Sansom novel), ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), by C. J. Sansom, 2003 * Dissolution (Binge no ...

, the Russian Federation inherited the former Soviet properties in the UK. But this was not recognized by Ukraine and in 1999 it initiated litigation, which like the case with most other former Soviet embassies around the world, left the situation unresolved. Although previously the Russian Federation was able to register its property rights, it since then lost the rights to sell or rent it out. In 2022 it was reported that the British Government was considering gifting the house at Seacox Heath to the Ukrainian Government as compensation for the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Protests

The embassy has seen several protests over the years: * 2008 – the

Cluster Munition Coalition The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) is an international civil society movement, which campaigns against the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions. Cluster munitions, a type of munition stockpiled by more than 80 states ...

and

Landmine Action A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whic ...

protested against Russia's alleged use of

cluster bombs A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy veh ...

in the

2008 South Ossetia War The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...

between Russia and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

* 2008 – Pro-Georgian protesters, opposed to Russia's role in the recent South Ossetia War, gathered outside the embassy * 2011 –

Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is an Australian-born British human rights campaigner, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party's Parliament of the United Kingdo ...

and supporters protested about

gay rights in Russia Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Russia face significant legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Although sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex is legal, homosexua ...

* 2012 – a protest was held by people opposed to the jailing of the punk band

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Feminism in Russia, Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in the fall of 2011 by the th ...

* 2012 – opponents of the

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

regime in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

(which was strongly supported by Russia) protested outside the embassy, allegedly damaging it * 2013 – a large protest, attended by actor

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in An ...

and musician

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...

, took place outside the embassy following the

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...

of several

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

activists in the

Pechora Sea The Pechora Sea (, ) is an Arctic sea to the north-west of European Russia, forming the south-eastern portion of the Barents Sea. It is bordered to the west by Kolguyev Island; to the east by Vaygach Island's western coasts and the Yugorsky ...

* 2013 – a protest occurred seeking to free the journalist Kieron Bryan and the Greenpeace activists * 12 April 2017 – a protest attended by hundreds was held to condemn the alleged establishment of prison camps for gay men in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

During the

, it was alleged that Russian planes bombed a children's hospital in

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

, Ukraine. Tweets from the Embassy of Russia about this were deleted by Twitter because the tweets were in violation of the Twitter Rules, specifically the 'Hateful Conduct and Abusive Behavior' policies related to the denial of violent events. In February 2023, a small section of Bayswater Road near the Russian embassy was renamed Kyiv Road to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Gallery

File:RIAN archive 778094 Visit to Great Britain by General secretary of CPSU CC Mikhail Gorbachev.jpg,

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

and

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 ...

at the Soviet Embassy in London, 1 April 1989 File:Embassy_of_Russia_in_London_1.jpg, The embassy as seen from Bayswater Road File:Embassy_of_Russia_in_London_2.jpg, Plaque outside the embassy on Bayswater Road in English and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

depicting the

Coat of arms of Russia The coat of arms of Russia derives from the earlier coat of arms of the Russian Empire. Though modified more than once since the reign of Ivan III (1462–1505), the current coat of arms is directly derived from its medieval original, with the d ...

File:Embassy of the Russian Federation Residence, Kensington Palace Gardens.jpg, The Ambassador's Residence at 13 Kensington Palace Gardens File:Navalny memorial across from Russian Embassy in London (53558776265).jpg, Memorial to

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...

across from Russian Embassy in London, 17 February 2024

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Russia–United Kingdom relations Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Soviet Union–United Kingdom relations Holland Park

History

Protests

Gallery

See also

References

External links