Embassy of Sweden, Moscow

Embassy of Sweden, Moscow
Embassy of Sweden, Moscow
Location	Moscow
Address	60 Mosfilmovskaya Street; 119 590 Moscow; Russia
Coordinates	55°43′0.12″N 37°30′56.88″E / 55.7167000°N 37.5158000°E
Opening	1631
Ambassador	Karin Olofsdotter
Website	Official website

The Embassy of Sweden in Moscow is the chief diplomatic mission of Sweden in the Russian Federation. It is located at 60 Mosfilmovskaya Street (Russian: Мосфильмовская ул., 60), on the corner of Ulofa Palme Street (Russian: ул. Улофа Пальме), in the Ramenki District of Moscow.^[1]

History

Already in 1617, there were Swedish agents who had their own house in Moscow. This was confiscated during the Great Wrath (1700–1721). In 1754, Saint Petersburg appointed a new commissioner. During the 18th and 19th centuries, a Swedish consulate was staffed intermittently. In 1872, an honorary consulate was finally established with the city as its district. In 1906, it became a career consulate and also covered the governorates of Moscow, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ufa, Samara, Simbirsk, Orenburg, Penza, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk, Orel, Kursk, Voronezh, Tambov, Saratov, and the "Land of the Ural Cossacks." In 1916, Moscow was elevated to a consulate general, but it was closed during the Russian Revolution. In 1924, the diplomatic mission in Leningrad was moved back to Moscow. During Operation Barbarossa, all diplomatic missions in Moscow were transferred to the city of Kuibyshev. In 1947, the legation in Moscow was elevated to an embassy.^[2]

Staff and tasks

The Swedish embassy in Moscow is one of Sweden's largest diplomatic missions. It represents Sweden and the Swedish government in Russia and works to promote Swedish interests. The embassy is organized into several key departments:^[3]

Economic Department: Monitors the economic situation in Russia, including the conditions for Swedish businesses.
Political Department: Responsible for reporting on the political landscape in Russia, including human rights issues, Russian foreign policy, and Russia–Sweden relations.
Migration Department: Handles applications for visas, residence permits, and work permits from Russian citizens and other legal residents of the Russian Federation.
Administrative Department: Supports the embassy with various practical and administrative tasks, and also includes a consular function that assists Swedish citizens in Russia, such as those who have lost their passports.
Cultural Department: Disseminates information about Sweden and engages in a wide range of cultural activities.
Defence Department: Monitors military and security developments in Russia.

Buildings

Chancery

In the 1910s, the embassy chancery was located at Anglijskaja Nabereschnaja 64 in Petrograd. In the early 1920s, it moved to Ulitza Vorovskij/Vorovskovo 44 in Moscow.^[4]^[5] In 1964, the embassy moved to Ulitsa Pisemskovo 15.^[6] After many years of negotiations, the construction of a new Swedish embassy in Moscow could begin in July 1968. In 1972, it was ready for use on 60 Mosfilmovskaya Street. The embassy was designed by the Swedish architect Anders Tengbom.^[7]

The embassy is a tight red brick building with a closed facade facing the street. The windows in the buildings are mainly located towards the garden. The architecture is reminiscent of the fact that the embassy was built during a time when security issues were central. But the closed, fortress-like façade would be compensated by the fact that it was possible to enter the embassy's courtyard and indoors with the help of bright interiors. After a serious incident in the 1980s, the embassy area had to be fenced off. In the courtyard, the sculpture "Gestalt i storm" by Bror Marklund dominates. The bricks for the facades were obtained from Forsa brickworks in Bollebygd.^[7]

In the summer of 2002, a new visa chancery was inaugurated at the property, which was built to cope with the extended visa processing that followed the Schengen Agreement. The extension had the same exterior appearance as previous buildings. On the ground floor are the Foreign Ministry's archives and on the ground floor a modern office environment. A large lantern provides the visa office with extra daylight. The architect was Jesper Husman at Tengbom Arkitekter.^[7]

Embassy building in 2008
Lesser coat of arms at the entrance

References

^ "Embassy of Sweden in Moscow, Russia". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
^ "Beskickningen Moskva ((1617) 1924 – )" [Diplomatic mission Moscow ((1617) 1924 – )] (in Swedish). National Archives of Sweden. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
^ "Om oss" [About us] (in Swedish). Embassy of Sweden, Moscow. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
^ Sveriges statskalender för året 1925 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. 1925. p. 187.
^ Sveriges statskalender för året 1931 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1931. p. 194.
^ Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1964 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1964. p. 314.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Moskva, Ryssland. Ambassadanläggning" (in Swedish). National Property Board of Sweden. Retrieved 23 March 2021.

External links

Official website

[1] "Embassy of Sweden in Moscow, Russia". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

[2] "Beskickningen Moskva ((1617) 1924 – )" [Diplomatic mission Moscow ((1617) 1924 – )] (in Swedish). National Archives of Sweden. Retrieved 14 June 2024.

[3] "Om oss" [About us] (in Swedish). Embassy of Sweden, Moscow. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2024.

[4] Sveriges statskalender för året 1925 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. 1925. p. 187.

[5] Sveriges statskalender för året 1931 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1931. p. 194.

[6] Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1964 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1964. p. 314.

[Sfv-7] "Moskva, Ryssland. Ambassadanläggning" (in Swedish). National Property Board of Sweden. Retrieved 23 March 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e Diplomatic missions of Sweden
Embassies are the main entries, while consulate-generals are shown as sub-entries.
Africa	Algeria Burkina Faso [sv] Democratic Republic of the Congo [sv] Egypt [sv] Ethiopia [sv] Kenya [sv] Liberia [sv] Mali Morocco [sv] Mozambique [sv] Nigeria [sv] Rwanda [sv] Sudan [sv] South Africa Tanzania [sv] Tunisia [sv] Uganda [sv] Zambia [sv] Zimbabwe [sv]
Americas	Argentina Bolivia [sv] Brazil [sv] Canada Chile [sv] Colombia [sv] Cuba [sv] Guatemala [sv] Mexico United States New York City San Francisco
Asia	Afghanistan [sv] Armenia [sv] Azerbaijan [sv] Bangladesh China Hong Kong Shanghai Georgia [sv] India Mumbai Indonesia [sv] Iraq Iran Israel [sv] Jerusalem Japan Jordan [sv] Kazakhstan [sv] Lebanon Malaysia [sv] North Korea Pakistan [sv] Philippines [sv] Qatar [sv] Saudi Arabia [sv] Singapore [sv] South Korea [sv] Syria [sv] Taiwan¹ Thailand Turkey [sv] Istanbul [sv] United Arab Emirates [sv] Vietnam [sv]
Europe	Albania [sv] Austria [sv] Belarus [sv] Bosnia and Herzegovina [sv] Belgium Bryssel [sv] Croatia [sv] Cyprus [sv] Czech Republic Denmark Estonia [sv] Finland Mariehamn [sv] France Germany Greece Hungary [sv] Iceland [sv] Ireland Italy Kosovo [sv] Latvia [sv] Lithuania [sv] North Macedonia [sv] Moldova [sv] Netherlands Norway Poland [sv] Portugal [sv] Romania [sv] Russia Serbia [sv] Spain [sv] Switzerland [sv] Ukraine [sv] United Kingdom
Oceania	Australia
Former	Angola Belgium Botswana [sv] Bulgaria [sv] Cambodia [sv] Canada Montreal Ecuador [sv] Guinea-Bissau [sv] Holy See [sv] Ivory Coast [sv] Kuwait [sv] Libya [sv] Namibia [sv] Nicaragua [sv] New Zealand [sv] Peru Russia Saint Petersburg [sv] Sri Lanka [sv] United Kingdom London United States Chicago Houston Los Angeles Minneapolis Uruguay [sv] Venezuela [sv]
¹ No diplomatic relations with Taiwain, functions as an informal diplomatic mission

v t e Diplomatic missions in Russia
Africa	Cameroon Egypt Mali Nigeria Tanzania Zimbabwe
Americas	Argentina Brazil Canada Cuba United States
Asia	Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Cambodia China India [ru] Indonesia Iran Israel Japan St. Petersburg Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Mongolia North Korea Philippines South Korea Syria Taiwan¹ Turkmenistan Kazan Astrakhan Vietnam
Europe	Austria Belarus Croatia Cyprus Denmark St. Petersburg Estonia Finland St. Petersburg France St. Petersburg Germany former Greece Holy See Italy Latvia Moldova Norway Poland Serbia Spain Sweden United Kingdom St. Petersburg
Oceania	Australia
Former	Germany Georgia Ukraine New Zealand
¹ No diplomatic relations with Russia, functions as an informal diplomatic mission