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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team<\/a> and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Russia is refusing to hand over the building in Gda\u0144sk that houses its consulate, despite Poland ordering the facility to close in response to the sabotage of a rail line last month by agents working on behalf of Moscow. Russia says it still has legal right to the property, but that claim is rejected by city hall.<\/p>\n The Polish foreign ministry ordered the consulate to close<\/a> by the end of 23 December, with employees required to leave Poland. The Russians, however, plan to leave a single \u201cadministrative and technical employee\u201d at the premises after that date to \u201censure the inviolability\u201d of the building, which they claim is legally theirs.<\/p>\n PILNE! Rosjanie nie zamierzaj\u0105 odda\u0107 konsulatu w Gda\u0144sku! Argumentuj\u0105, \u017ce nale\u017cy si\u0119 im bo zosta\u0142 zakupiony na polecenie \u2026 cara Piotra I \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47@sikorskiradek<\/a> @gdansk<\/a> #Rosja<\/a> #CarPiotrI<\/a> #konsulatGda\u0144sk<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/PKer2ecsGJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Dziennik Ba\u0142tycki (@dz_baltycki) December 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The villa on Batorego Street has been occupued by Kremlin diplomats since 1951, when Poland\u2019s communist authorities agreed to allow the Soviets to use the building for free, reports broadcaster TVN.<\/p>\n Previously, since the times of Tsar Peter the Great, Russia (and later the Soviet Union) had operated a consulate elsewhere in Gda\u0144sk. But it was seized by Nazi Germany in 1941, after Hitler declared war on the Soviet Union, then destroyed in 1945 during the Red Army\u2019s advance into the city.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe this is our property,\u201d Andrei Ordash, charge d\u2019affaires of the Russian embassy in Warsaw, told TVN. \u201cThis building was transferred to us in the early 1950s as compensation for property lost by the Soviet Union during the war; it is our property.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Russia has maintained this position for years. In 2013, Gda\u0144sk began charging fees for the building\u2019s use, but the consulate refused to pay. The city estimates unpaid fees from 2013 to 2023 at around 5.5 million zloty (\u20ac1.3 million), with interest adding another 3 million zloty.<\/p>\n Gda\u0144sk officials call Russia\u2019s position \u201cincomprehensible\u201d, saying that available documentation does not support Moscow\u2019s claims. According to the land and mortgage registers, the building is owned by the Polish state treasury.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s deputy mayor, Emilia Lodzi\u0144ska, announced on Monday that the city would pursue legal measures to reclaim the property.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter obtaining a court ruling favourable to the Polish side, bailiff proceedings will be carried out, resulting in the seizure of the property,\u201d she said.<\/a> \u201cI would like to stress very clearly that we are acting and will continue to act within the framework of a democratic state governed by the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Poland has ordered Russia to close its consulate in Gda\u0144sk in response to last week’s sabotage of a rail line by agents working for Moscow.<\/p>\n It means that all of Russia’s consulates in Poland have now been shut, with only the embassy in Warsaw remaining https:\/\/t.co\/Ba0ALlhcpA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Notes from Poland \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1 (@notesfrompoland) November 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The city emphasised that the building would lose its protected status under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations at midnight on 23 December. However, the city estimates that recovering the building through legal means may in practice take two or three years.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing a relevant court ruling and transfer to the state treasury, the property will be available for reuse,\u201d said Emil Rojek, deputy governor of the Pomerania province in which Gda\u0144sk is located.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore we make any decisions regarding the future use of this building, we must familiarise ourselves with its technical condition, what we will find there, and examine it in terms of safety. Then we will decide whether this property will be used for the needs of state authorities or in another way, for example commercially,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Warsaw has announced it will renovate a former Russian diplomatic compound known as \u201cSpyville\u201d and turn it into flats for public servants.<\/p>\n The city had hoped to hand it over to the Ukrainian community but could not owing to the building’s poor conditionhttps:\/\/t.co\/J9438EMMFK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Notes from Poland \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1 (@notesfrompoland) January 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In 2022, shortly after Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the municipal authorities in Warsaw seized a former Russian diplomatic compound<\/a> that had likewise been claimed by Moscow as part of a long-running legal dispute.<\/p>\n Warsaw had initially hoped to hand over the building to the local Ukrainian community. However, that proved unfeasible due to the poor condition of the site. It will instead be redeveloped into housing<\/a> for municipal employees.<\/p>\n In 2022, Poland\u2019s State Forests likewise seized a property<\/a> that Russia had refused to vacate despite failing to pay rent.<\/p>\n Since last year, Poland has successively closed down all three of Russia\u2019s consulates in response to Moscow\u2019s campaign of sabotage on Polish territory. After the Gda\u0144sk consulate ceases to operate tomorrow, only the embassy in Warsaw will remain.<\/p>\n In retaliation, Moscow has ordered all of Poland\u2019s consulates<\/a> on its territory to close.<\/p>\n Polish authorities have seized a property from the Russian embassy after the lease was terminated for unpaid rent but the Russians refused to vacate the premises.<\/p>\n The buildings were found to be “completely devastated”, with even wiring removed from walls https:\/\/t.co\/4s0BxnRSW4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Notes from Poland \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1 (@notesfrompoland) November 3, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \ufeff<\/p>\n\n
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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team<\/a> and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.<\/p>\n
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