Belgrade City Center Russian Home Side View Editorial Image

The Russian home was created on the initiative of Russian emigrants who found refuge in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes after the October Revolution in Russia. This idea was supported by King Alexander I Karadjordjevic, Serbian Patriarch Varnava, Academician Aleksandar Belic and other leading state and social Serbian artists. The building was designed by Russian architect V. F. Baumgartena. It was opened as a cultural center on April 9, 1933. The Museum of Tsar Nicholas II was opened within the home in June 1936.After the Second World War, the Government of Yugoslavia handed over the building to the Soviet Union, where the `House of Soviet Culture` was located since 1994 - the Russian Center for Science and Culture. The Russian House has exhibition material, film fund, books and is involved in the organization of various festivals, conferences and other cultural events in Belgrade and beyond. The Russian House also worked during the NATO bombing of the FRY in 1999. It did not interrupt its work during the bombing. On May 24, 1999, the whole of Belgrade was left without electricity, while the `Day of Slavic Literacy and Culture` was celebrated by candlelight in the Russian House.