Dear Madam,

This information is available at http://www.russiatourism.ru/rubriki/-1124140228/

Dear Sir,
This is a clear case of "Romance scam". Do not send any money. Please note also http://www.rusemb.org.uk/scamvictims/

We regret to inform you that only Russian citizens who study full time at Russian universities are eligible for internship in Russian diplomatic missions. They should apply via they respective dean.

Like embassies of other countries, we are not normally open to individual visitors. We do consider applications by large groups of students etc. interested in Russian foreign policy.

We sincerely regret to inform you that the Russian medals awarded to the ex-servicemen of the Arctic Convoys cannot be presented posthumously.

Dear Sir,

According to the Constitution, no religion can be declared official in Russia, though the law recognizes Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism as traditional religions (see rusemb.org.uk/religion/ for more information). Therefore there is no Embassy Chapel. The Russian Orthodox Cathedral churches in London are the ones of the Sourozh diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (www.sourozh.org/) and of the Diocese of Germany and Britain of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (www.rocor.org.uk/) which are in communion with each other. At rusemb.org.uk/rusplaces/you can see the former Imperial Russian Embassy chapel at Welbeck street, which was the focal point for the Russian community for over 100 years, even when the diplomatic relations were broken off in 1800 and 1807-1812, when the priest Iakov Smirnov acted as de-facto ambassador of Russia.

Regards, Press Office

If you have any information about terror attacks against Russia, please inform the Federal Security Service fsb@fsb.ru

In Russian the list of US, Australian and New Zealand veterans awarded is published at http://www.rus.rusemb.org.uk/press/343

The UK Arctic Convoys veterans are pending Royal Consent.

We regret to inform you that only full time students of Russian universities who are citizens of Russia can apply for internship practice at Russian diplomatic missions via their respective dean’s office.

The Russian Federation is determined to achieve a truly robust and efficient document with clear goals, objectives and parameters, based on the highest international standards. Such a document should guarantee the right of every state to arm itself for the national defence, produce, sell and buy weapons; consider priorities and specifics of every region with clear wording, which won’t allow its arbitrary interpretation, as well as the differences in the states’ approaches to political, economical, military and humanitarian aspects of arms trade and in levels of national arms control systems.

The status of the document - legally or politically binding- should not be predetermined, but specified depending on its final coordinated content. The Russian Federation believes that the primary goal of a possible document should be countering arms diversion to illicit circulation. The threat posed by arms in the hands of illegal armed groups and brokers, terrorists, extremists and organized crime as well as arms proliferation in the zones of military conflict and territories under the UN embargo is real and serious and requires an adequate response by the international community.

The future ATT must be universal, practically executable and applicable in any state, no matter whether it is a manufacturer, exporter or buyer of arms and, in our opinion, have to consist of the following provisions:

• Establishment of the highest international standards in the sphere of import, export and transfer of conventional arms and weapons;
• Regulation of those fields of arms trade which due to the transparency deficit and some subjective factors are especially sensible such as re-export and transfer of arms made without license, broker activities, end-user control, arms supply for the non-governmental structures and organizations;
• Development of national legislation to control the internal circulation of imported and transferred arms.

The Russian Federation strictly insists on compliance of the principle of consensus in the ATT process. We are confident that the decision making based on majority principle rather than consensus would dramatically narrow the possibilities for compromise as well as consideration of the minority opinion. It could create the atmosphere of competition among the ATT process participants and affect negatively the effectiveness of joint work. Besides, the principle of consensus is required by the UN GA resolutions and we consider the revision of this rule at the final stage of the ATT Conference preparatory work as unjustified and counterproductive.

The Russian side has requested Royal Consent for the British veterans of the Arctic Convoys to be awarded the Ushakov Medal, which is named in honour of the illustrious Russian admiral and is awarded for gallantry in naval action. We have been informed by the FCO that according to the current British regulations, the person to be awarded should have shown merit during the last 5 years. Consequently, the Embassy has sent letters to some 1200 veterans of the Royal Navy and Merchant Marine to request information on their relevant activities within veterans’ organizations, including within the context of Russia-UK relationship over the past 5 years. As soon as their answers are received they will be forwarded to the FCO with a corresponding note of the Embassy.

You can find information about Russian events in UK at http://www.rusemb.org.uk/forthcomingevents/

We normally do not promote commercial events, but rather not-for-profit happenings.

Dear Valeria,The Embassy itself does not work as an employment agency. However we are aware that knowing Russian gives you a competitive advantage in employment in the UK. According to a 2009 CBI survey 21% of British employers are looking for Russian-speaking staff. Those who have achieved professional success can give you advice at the Russian Speaking Community Council (http://www.russian-council.co.uk/), umbrella organization for all community associations. It also runs a new useful portal http://www.cometogether.org.uk/.

Dear Sirs,

Thank you for your letter. We understand your concern and would like to explain Russia’s attitude to the conflict in Syria.Regarding the UN discussion and vote, Russia had worked constructively on the draft resolutions of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly. The aim of the Russian amendments was to ensure the following elements to be reflected in the texts:- condemnation of all violence, not only the violence on the part of government forces- demand to the political opposition to dissociate itself from extremists- the need for the armed opposition groups to leave urban areas in conjunction with the withdrawal of government forces- focus on the need for the crisis to be overcome by the Syrians themselves and thus no hint at armed external intervention.

Unfortunately, these ideas (which now have been basically incorporated into the Annan Plan) were not supported by some of our UN partners, due to which Russia voted against the drafts.

The influence that Russia allegedly has over the Syrian Government is seriously exaggerated. We are working tirelessly with Damascus on the diplomatic front in order to induce the Syrian authorities to begin a dialogue with the opposition, and we have managed to secure the Syrian government's agreement to hold such a dialogue. Regrettably, the opposition, including the Syrian National Council, has so far rejected it. We expect our international partners who enjoy a significant influence over the opposition groups to exercise similar pressure on those in order to induce them to stop armed actions and start negotiating.

To avert a full scale civil war, it is necessary to exert every effort to launch an inclusive political process in Syria, involving both the authorities and all the opposition groups. We hope that the appointment of the former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan as Joint UN / Arab League Special Envoy to Syria mandated to bring the parties to the negotiating table will help to unlock the situation.