Russian Embassy in Warsaw
| Palace of the Russian Embassy | ||
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 Front facade on Ulica Belwederska |
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| Creation time : | 1954 | |
| Castle type : | Palace | |
| Conservation status: | Preserve | |
| Place: | Warsaw | |
| Geographical location | 52 ° 12 '37.7 " N , 21 ° 1' 35.7" E | |
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The building of the Russian Embassy in Poland ( Polish Ambasada Rosji w Polsce ; Russian Посольство России в Польше ) is located on the Warsaw Ulica Belwederska (no. 49). It was built after the Second World War and is considered a particularly monumental example of classicism within the style of socialist realism .
history
In the past, the Russian-Soviet representations in Poland were housed in different buildings in Warsaw. From 1788 onwards, the Brühlsche Palais was such an official residence. In 1794, the Russian representation moved to the Młodziejowski Palace at 10 Miodowa Street. A later seat - from around 1830 - was in the "Hotel d'Europe", which was then located in the Borchów Palace , also in ul. Miodowa (No. 17-19).
The diplomatic relationship between the RSFSR and Poland was regulated in the 1921 Treaty of Riga . From 1923, the seat of the RSFSR agency was the no longer existing Hotel “Rom” (Polish: Hotel “Rzym”) at Ulica Focha 1 (today Ulica Moliera). In 1924 the office was moved to the Glassów apartment building at 15 Poznańska Street; In 1930 this building was taken over. In 1934 the status of the previous representation changed to an embassy of the Soviet Union . During the Second World War , the embassy building was occupied by German troops. After the war, the embassy first moved into Adam Bromke's tenement house on Plac Unii Lubelskiej. Soon afterwards the planning for the construction of a new, representative embassy building began.
Belwederska Street
The construction of the new embassy according to a design by the architects Alexander Pietrowicz Wielikanow and Igor Jewgieniewicz Rożyn began in 1954. The last details of the furnishings were completed in 1956. It is one of the last buildings built in Poland in the style of social realism.
South of the embassy building, an office building in modern style was built between 1976 and 1978 by the companies Budimex and Budipol . Here are today trade mission of Russia (Polish: Przedstawicielstwo Handlowe Federacji Rosyjskiej w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej , Russian: Торговое представительство Российской Федерации в Польше ), the Russian consulate in Warsaw (Polish: Wydział Konsularny , Russian: Консульский отдел ) and the Russian Science and Cultural Center (Polish: Rosyjski Ośrodek Nauki i Kultury w Warszawie , Russian: Российский центр науки и культуры в Варшаве ).
Trivia
Kozakiewicz intervention
After the Polish pole vaulter Władysław Kozakiewicz had shown his striking victory gesture at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow because of the provocation of the local audience , the ambassador of the USSR in Poland and host of the embassy, Boris Ivanovich Aristov, unsuccessfully demanded that his gold medal be withdrawn.
The Kukliński Escape
On November 6, 1981 , the evening before his escape, the Polish officer and CIA agent Ryszard Kukliński attended a banquet at the embassy to mark the anniversary of the October Revolution . This visit was part of his escape plan. After Wojciech Jaruzelski and the head of the secret service, Czesław Kiszczak , had left the party, Kukliński boarded his supposed service on the Volga and left the property. In fact, the vehicle was a CIA-prepared car that took the agent to a conspiratorial apartment in Warsaw, from where he continued his escape the next day.
architecture
The complex stands on an artificial hill that compensates for the height difference between the Belwederska on the east side and the Ulica Spacerowa on the west. The surrounding park is four hectares. The exterior of the embassy building is reminiscent of the classical Russian residences from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The floor plan of the building is uniform, next to the main building there are two symmetrical side wings that enclose an inner courtyard. A massive portico was inserted on four pillars on the approximately 100-meter-long front facade . The main building has a central dome over the central rotunda of the interior.
The entrance area consists of a marble foyer with Doric columns and a two-part staircase. Large crystal chandeliers are in the rooms, and some wall paintings were also made. A striking feature inside is a large, illuminated mosaic in the central rotunda. It shows (only) three seasons: spring, summer and winter. The embassy has a luxury apartment of 400 square meters, which was probably used by high-ranking personalities of the Soviet Union on a state visit. A large room now used for hosting guests was formerly known as the “hunting room”. He was armed with hunting trophies - some of the Soviet ambassadors were avid hunters.
See also
literature
- Jerzy S. Majewski: Spacerownik. Warszawa Sladami PRL-u, Books of Walks. Landmarks of People's Poland in Warsaw . From the series: Biblioteka Gazety Wyborczej . Agora SA, Warsaw 2010, ISBN 978-83-932220-0-1 , p. 104ff (Polish and English)
Web links
- Various photos of the interior from 2010
- Russian Embassy website
- Photos of the interiors on the embassy website
Footnotes
- ↑ Both architects came from the architectural office put together by Lev Wladimirowitsch Rudnew for the construction of the Warsaw Palace of Culture , according to Jerzy S. Majewski: Wokół Łazienek . In: Gazeta.pl-Warszawa , June 14, 2007 (Polish)
- ↑ According to other sources, construction began in 1955, according to Julius A. Chroscicki, Andrzej Rottermund: Architectural Atlas of Warsaw . 1st edition, Arkady, Warsaw 1978, p. 51f.
- ↑ according to a plaque outside the building (Polish)
- ↑ Boris Iwanowitsch Aristow (* 1925) was ambassador to Poland (from 1978), deputy foreign minister (from 1983) and member of the Central Committee (24th – 26th Party Congress) of the Soviet Union
- ↑ Ambasador as well as Polsce Boris Aristow domagał się odebrania Polakowi medalu in Polskieradio.pl from July 30, 2012 (in Italian) accessed April 19, 2013
- ↑ Jerzy S. Majewski, Spacerownik. Warszawa Sladami PRL-u, Books of Walks. Landmarks of People's Poland in Warsaw , from the series: Biblioteka Gazety Wyborczej , Agora SA, ISBN 978-83-932220-0-1 , Warsaw 2010, p. 106f (English)
- ↑ Barbara Doktór: Warszawa. Belwederska 49 zdobyta ( Memento of the original from May 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at Krajoznawcy.info.pl from February 27, 2010 (Polish)
