The Embassy of Russia in Washington, D.C. (russian: Посольство России в США) 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 den ...

of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

to the United States. The chancery is located at 2650 Wisconsin Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C. The embassy oversees consulates in New York and

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Ambassador's residence

The Russian ambassador's residence is located at 1125 16th Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C. Built in 1910, this Beaux-Arts mansion served variously as the Russian or Soviet embassy during periods of established relations between 1913 and 1994.

New embassy compound on Wisconsin Avenue

The embassy of the Russian Federation is situated on "Mount Alto" on Wisconsin Avenue Northwest, built on property leased to the Soviet government for 85 years on the basis of an agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States, concluded in 1969. Under the 1972 agreement, equivalent territory in Moscow was to be leased to the United States for a new embassy on the same conditions. The second agreement also stated that both sides should start using their new buildings simultaneously. The embassy was designed by well-known Soviet architect , who designed the State Kremlin Palace and a number of other buildings in Moscow. The residential building, the school, the kindergarten and sports grounds were all complete in 1979. Administrative and ceremonial buildings were finished in 1985. In the late 1980s, the FBI and the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

built a tunnel under the compound for espionage purposes, but it was never successfully exploited due to FBI agent Robert Hanssen disclosing information about the operation to the KGB. In September 1994, during his visit to the United States, Russian President

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

and U.S. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

inaugurated the new ceremonial building of the Russian Embassy, at Mount Alto.

Events

In 1985, Vitaly Yurchenko redefected here, after eluding his handlers at the Au Pied de Cochon restaurant in Georgetown. On February 27, 2018, a one-block section of Wisconsin Avenue in front of the embassy was renamed Boris Nemtsov Plaza in honor of

Boris Nemtsov Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov ( rus, Бори́с Ефи́мович Немцо́в, p=bɐˈrʲis jɪˈfʲiməvʲɪtɕ nʲɪmˈtsof; 9 October 195927 February 2015) was a Russian physicist and liberal politician. He was involved in the introduction ...

, an opposition activist and vocal critic of Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

who was shot dead by assassins while walking on a bridge near the Kremlin on February 27, 2015. The move to rename the street was initiated by Senator

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the ...

, who commented that the renaming serves as "an enduring reminder to Vladimir Putin and those who support him that they cannot use murder and intimidation to suppress dissent."

Gallery

File:Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington, D.C.jpg, Main compound File:Russian ambassador's residence - Washington, D.C.jpg, Ambassador's residence File:Russian Military, Air, and Naval Attache Office.jpg, Military, Air, and Naval Attache Office File:Information Office - Embassy of Russia in Washington, D.C.JPG, Information Office File:Russian Trade Representative (Washington, D.C.).JPG, Trade Representative ( Lothrop Mansion) File:Russian Cultural Centre in Washington, D.C..JPG,

Russian Cultural Center The Russian Cultural Center (russian: Российский центр науки и культуры в Вашингтоне) is a museum and building in Washington, D.C., supporting Russian culture in the United States and preserving its causes a ...

References

External links

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Embassy of Russia in Washington

wikimapia

Ambassador's residence wikimapia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Embassy of Russia in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C.

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...