Russia hoped to use 19th-century castle as its spying base
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bf2238a9-94d2-4cb8-ab61-4ebec473af2a?shareToken=5fd6834d5668ad6ae8233c71c5993af4
by Kunphen
Russia hoped to use 19th-century castle as its spying base
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bf2238a9-94d2-4cb8-ab61-4ebec473af2a?shareToken=5fd6834d5668ad6ae8233c71c5993af4
by Kunphen
3 comments
> The “dacha” used to be the Russian ambassador’s country residence in the 1990s, but it is unclear what the house’s official function is today.
>
> Built in a French château style in 1871, the existing structure belonged to the second Viscount of Goschen. He gave it to the Soviet Union in 1947, allegedly as a gift after Russian sailors saved his son during the Second World War. The estate was previously used as the refuge of the leader of the 18th-century Hawkhurst smuggling gang, Arthur Gray.
>
> In 1999 the property was at the centre of a row with a local sheep farmer, who accused the Russian embassy of letting loose a pack of Alsatians that killed 50 ewes. An embassy spokesman said at the time: “The estate is our property and everything there is covered by diplomatic immunity according to the international convention so yes, the dogs have immunity, but the dogs are not diplomats.”
Nice…..
As Russia is at war with a potential NATO member, why do they still own properties in the UK?
They should all be confiscated!
Arch-villains should have hollowed out volcanoes for their lairs. A mere castle is a weak effort from the Russians.