Like many other diplomatic missions, the Belgian Embassy in Moscow maintains and deepens a wide variety of aspects in relations between the two states. Although countries differ most radically from each other, they have many common interests in the fields of economics, politics and international security. Despite the fact that by European standards, Belgium is considered a relatively young state, the history of bilateral relations between Russia and the cities of this European kingdom has many centuries.
First Embassy of Belgium in Russia
According to Jean-Arthur Rezhibo, the Belgian ambassador to Russia, modern bilateral relations are characterized by a high level of trust and a wide range of mutual interests. However, the activities of the Belgian Embassy in Moscow can not be called simple. And all due to the fact that today the relations between the countries are under serious pressure from pan-European institutions.
But no matter how difficult the relations between Russia and Europe, relations with the kingdom cannot be completely ruined, since they have a long and very diverse history. After all, the first Belgian embassy in Russia appeared back in 1853. It was at this time that the most significant growth in trade relations between countries came.
Address of the Embassy of Belgium in Moscow
Today, the official diplomatic mission of the Kingdom of Belgium in the Russian Federation is located, as is customary, in the capital of the country - Moscow. The current stage in bilateral relations began in 1993, when the first president of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, paid an official visit to the kingdom. Over the next twenty-five years, the political leaders of the two countries have repeatedly made visits to the capitals of the partner states.
The mission building is located in the historic Arbat district, on Malaya Molchanovka Street, 7. The nearest metro station to the embassy is Arbatskaya. If you need to send mail to the diplomatic mission, you should also know the zip code, which is as follows: 121069.
Building history
The building in which the mission is located was built in 1910 according to the project of the architect Boris Mikhailovich Velikovsky in the neoclassical style that was fashionable at that time. Initially, it was a private mansion, the entrance to which was guarded by lying stone lions. A distinctive feature of the building was also the fact that in all the bas-reliefs that adorned both the interior decoration and the facade, exclusively female motifs and themes are observed.
Of course, after the October Revolution, the mansion was nationalized and adapted to public needs. For some time there was a secondary school, then a party school, a little later the office and workshops of the Institute of Cartography moved there. And only in 1946 the Belgian Embassy in Moscow moved to the building.
A Brief History of Diplomatic Relations
Trade between Russian cities and lands that are today part of Belgium was carried out for almost the entire previous millennium through the mediation of the great trading cities of the Baltic region. However, the first official contacts at the highest level were established only in 1717, when Peter l. Visited Flanders, which was then under the rule of the Austrian Netherlands. Among the many cities visited by the Russian tsar were Aachen, Brussels and Spa.
After Belgium gained independence in the XlX century, a new stage in bilateral relations began. In search of independence from its large neighbors, such as France and the Netherlands, the young state sought to establish as harmonious relations with the Russian Empire as possible.
An important part of Belgian-Russian relations are regional ties, because both countries are relatively young federations. Twin cities have twin cities, and friendly trade relations have been established between the regions.