The Russian ambassador's residence in Washington, D.C. historically known as the Mrs. George Pullman House, is located at 1125 16th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. in the

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

neighborhood. Until 1994, the building served as the

Embassy of Russia This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...

(and Embassy of the Soviet Union).

History

Built in 1910, to the designs of architects

Nathan C. Wyeth Nathan Corwith Wyeth (April 20, 1870 – August 30, 1963) was an American architect. He is best known for designing the West Wing of the White House, creating the first Oval Office. He designed a large number of structures in Washington, D.C., in ...

and

Francis P. Sullivan Francis may refer to: People * Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

, the Beaux-Arts mansion is designated as a contributing property to the Sixteenth Street Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. In addition, the building is listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites. Former occupants include Frank O. Lowden, Natalie Hammond (spouse of John Hays Hammond), and since 1913, Russian ambassadors to the United States.

Events

Beginning in 1970, a vigil was held there, over Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union. In 1967, U.S. Navy communications specialist John Anthony Walker walked into the embassy. In 1980, Ronald Pelton, a National Security Agency communications analyst, walked into the Soviet Embassy. In 1989, during

glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...

, Tom Clancy among others were invited to receptions there. In 1991, there was a protest over events in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

References

External links

*
Embassy of Russia in Washington, D.C.
Houses completed in 1910 1910 establishments in Washington, D.C. Diplomatic residences in Washington, D.C. Russia–United States relations Historic district contributing properties in Washington, D.C. Soviet Union–United States relations Russian ambassadorial residences Russian-American culture in Washington, D.C. {{russia-stub