Embassy of Russia, Tallinn

The embassy building is situated in the old medieval quarter of Tallinn Old Town. It was originally built around 1890 as a house and underwent several renovations before becoming an embassy. It was declared a cultural heritage monument in 1997.[2]

The building was first a Soviet embassy in 1921. After WWII it was in use by the Soviet Ministry of the Interior. The Estonian Embassy in Moscow and the Russian Embassy in Tallinn have been operating since independance in 1991, but until 2004 the ownership of buildings and plots owned by embassies and the conditions for their use were unregulated and a draft agreement was made to transfer ownership of the properties. It is unknown whether the draft was signed by either party.

Photo of demonstration protesting Russia's actions in Ukraine, 23 August 2014

After the unprovoked Russian invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine in 2014, the street outside the embassy witnessed demonstrations in support of Ukraine. Protests showing sympathy for Ukraine and condemning Russia included a powerful demonstration against the rapes of civilians in shelters who were attacked by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.[3]

Even before the atrocities by the Russian state against Ukraine in February 2022, diplomatic relations had soured between the nations. Estonia joined Latvia and Lithuania to expel Russian diplomats in March 2022.[4][5] In retaliation, the Russian Embassy posted on its facebook page that Estonian diplomats would be expelled from Russia.[6]

• 1992–1997 Aleksandr Trofimov
• 1997–2000 Aleksei Gluhkhov
• 2001–2006 Konstantin Provalov
• 2006–2010 Nikolai Uspensky
• 2010–2015 Yuri Merzlyakov
• 2015–2021 Aleksandr Petrov
• 2022 Vladimir Lipayev

• Russia–Estonia relations
• Foreign relations of Estonia
• Foreign relations of Russia
• Embassy of Estonia, Moscow
• List of diplomatic missions of Russia