| Embassy of Russia, Washington, D.C. | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Address | 2650 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007 |
| Coordinates | 38°55′28.48″N77°4′29.3″W / 38.9245778°N 77.074806°W /38.9245778; -77.074806 |
| Opened | 1979 (residence, school, and sports ground) 1985 (administrative and ceremonial buildings) |
| Ambassador | Alexander Darchiev[1] |
| Website | washington.mid.ru |
TheEmbassy of Russia in Washington, D.C. (Russian:Посольство России в США) is thediplomatic mission of theRussian Federation to the United States. Theembassy is located at 2650Wisconsin Avenue,Northwest, Washington, D.C.,[2][3] and oversees consulates inNew York andHouston.[4]
The embassy is situated on the third tallest hill in Washington, D.C. called "Mount Alto" - with the hill being 107 meters above sea level and having a view of theCapitol, theWhite House, thePentagon and theState Department.[5]
In 1883, theRussian Empire starting usingBoss Shepherd's mansion for their embassy.[6] In 1913, the Russian Empire purchasedMrs. George Pullman House for $350,000 and moved their embassy there.[7][8]
On November 16, 1933, after the signing of theRoosevelt-Litvinov Agreement where the United States recognized theSoviet Union anddiplomatic relations between the two countries began, Mrs. George Pullman House became theSoviet Union Embassy.[8]
In 1963, due to limited space at the location, the Soviets approached the U.S. government to find a new embassy location.[9][10][11] Initial interests for Bonnie Brae Estate on 6036 Oregon Avenue, N.W. andTregaron Estate as possible locations did not work out, so theU.S. State Department offered the Soviets Mount Alto which was accepted.[11] On October 4, 1967, the Soviet Union and U.S.agreed in principle to dedicate the 12.5-acrefederally owned property on Mount Alto for the Soviet Embassy and an 11.9-acre area inMoscow for theUS Embassy.[10][12]
Prior to the embassy construction, Mount Alto had a 1901 home built forWilliam Jennings Bryan, the National School of Domestic Arts and Science for women built in 1917, and the Mount Alto Inn hotel.[9][13][11] In 1920 the U.S. federal government purchased the land the buildings were on for $460,000 so it could use it for theMount Alto Veterans Hospital forWorld War Iveterans - which was later relocated toSoldiers Home in 1965.[10][14][11][15] After the October 4, 1967 principle agreement between the Soviets and the U.S., the unused hospital and local structures were razed by theU.S. General Services Administration to make way for the construction of the embassy.[11]
On May 16, 1969, inMoscow, an official agreement called "Agreement for the Exchange of Sites" was signed by the Soviet Union and the U.S.[16][12] The Mount Alto property was leased to the Soviets for an 85-year free lease, and the same was provided to the U.S. in regards to the land theUS Embassy was on in Moscow.[16][12]
On December 4, 1972, a second agreement called "Conditions of Construction Agreement" was signed by the Soviet Union and the U.S., which included: "site work, foundation and structure built by host country with its materials, and other systems of the buildings built using host country workers under owner’s supervision using owner’s choice of materials except inside finishing of top four floors constructed entirely by the owner."[16][12] The agreement also stated that bothchanceries should begin construction simultaneously and be occupied simultaneously.[16][12] Under the current lease, theU.S. Office of Foreign Missions is the current owner of the land that the Russian embassy is on.[17]
The embassy design was done by well-known Soviet architectMikhail Posokhin, who designed theState Kremlin Palace and a number of other buildings in Moscow.[5]John Carl Warnecke was the American architect assisting with drawing up plans for the embassy, whileEDAW, which initially had been hired by theU.S. General Services Administration to do an environmental impact study of the location, would become a site planner in the construction.[18][15] The embassy would be built in two phases.[15]
In 1979, the first phase of construction was completed byGeorge Hyman Construction Company involving a residential building, a school, a kindergarten, and a sports grounds.[5][15]
In May 1985, the second phase of construction was completed byWhiting-Turner Contracting Company involving an 8-story administrative building, a 3-story consulate, and a 2-story ceremonial building.[5][15] At completion the embassy cost approximately $62-$65 million.[5][15]
Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991, the embassy became theRussian Federation Embassy. In September 1994, during his visit to the United States, Russian PresidentBoris Yeltsin and U.S. PresidentBill Clinton inaugurated the new ceremonial building of the Russian Embassy.[5]
On November 16, 1933, a few hours before the signing of theRoosevelt-Litvinov Agreement where the United States recognized theSoviet Union anddiplomatic relations between the two countries began, 500 packing crates of records were removed by US troops and relocated to aState Department facility.[19] Twenty percent of the records were from the Russian Empire consulates.[19] On January 31, 1990, the records were returned to the Soviets.[19]
During construction of the embassy on Mount Alto, Sovietcounter-intelligence foundelectronic bugs in atoilet partition that had been delivered to the construction site.[15] This resulted in eight Soviets being assigned the task of observing all matters of construction, resulting in a stricter building environment.[15] For example:
In the late 1980s, theFBI and theNational Security Agencybuilt a tunnel under the compound for espionage purposes,[20] but it was never successfully exploited due toFBI agentRobert Hanssen disclosing information about the operation to theKGB.[21][22]
In 1985,Vitaly Yurchenko redefected here, after eluding his handlers at the Au Pied de Cochon restaurant inGeorgetown.[23][24][25]
On February 27, 2018, a one-block section of Wisconsin Avenue in front of the embassy was renamed Boris Nemtsov Plaza in honor ofBoris Nemtsov, an opposition activist and vocal critic of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin 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 SenatorMarco Rubio, 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."[26][27]
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Anatoly Antonov[28][29] | 2017—2024 |
| Alexander Darchiev[30] | 2025—Present |
The Russian ambassador's residence is located at 112516th Street,Northwest, Washington, D.C. Built in 1910, this Beaux-Arts mansion served as the Russian and Soviet embassy during periods of established relations between 1913 and 1994.
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Назначить Антонова Анатолия Ивановича Чрезвычайным и Полномочным Послом Российской Федерации в Соединенных Штатах Америки и Постоянным наблюдателем Российской Федерации при Организации американских государств в Вашингтоне, Соединенные Штаты Америки, по совместительству.
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