Three flags flutter on the wrought-iron balcony of an old Brussels building at Rue du Méridien 21: the Belgian, the European Union and the Russian. The building seems half-asleep, as if time has stopped here.
Heavy gray roller blinds cover the windows of the first floor, and a thick dark curtain peeks out from the only open window upstairs. There are at least four video surveillance cameras on the facade. Cars are tightly lined up along the narrow street.
On the first floor there are street stands with glass doors. Behind the glass are bright posters, photos of people in Russian folk costumes, posters of cultural events and a schedule of Russian language classes. A woman in a white cap diligently wipes the glass with window cleaner.
The “Russian House” in Brussels is part of the network of state cultural centers of the Russian Federation, which are managed by the federal agency "Rossotrudnichestvo".
This is what the facade of the Russian House building in Brussels looks like, October 20, 2026.
Юлія Гира / «Бабель»
The house is located in Saint-Josse-ten-Node, the smallest and one of the poorest communes in the Belgian capital. It is a densely populated, multicultural area where Turkish, Arabic and French can be heard on the streets. There are shops and bakeries from different communities, and diplomatic missions are located nearby.
A few steps from the “Russian House” stands a dark bronze monument in honor of the communeʼs residents who died during the two world wars. The years 1914-1918 and 1940-1945 are engraved on the stone base. The inscriptions honor those who fell on the battlefield, those shot, members of the Resistance, prisoners of war and deported political prisoners.
From this street, it is about a twenty-minute walk to the European quarter of Schuman, where the European Commission, the Council of the EU, and the European Council are located.
On October 15, EU leaders gathered there for a two-day summit to discuss support for Ukraine and Russian hybrid attacks in Europe. That same evening, the “Russian House” was showing the film “Morphine”, directed by Alexei Balabanov. Itʼs an adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakovʼs works about a young doctor who gradually becomes addicted to morphine.
A monument in honor of the residents of the commune of Saint-Josse-ten-Nodet, who died during the two world wars, a few meters from the "Russian House" building.
Юлія Гира / «Бабель»
In the program is Bulgakov, in the film is Putin
The Brussels center has been operating for over thirty years and calls itself an institution "under the Russian embassy". It describes its goal as humanitarian cooperation between Russia, Belgium, and Europe. The centerʼs website talks a lot about Russian history, World War II, and "compatriots" abroad.
On October 7, a concert "Under the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos" was held here with the participation of the Youth Bishopsʼ Choir of the Brussels-Belgium Diocese. The announcement called the Theotokos the patroness first of Rus, and later — of Russia. On the same day, the "Russian House" congratulated Vladimir Putin on his birthday. They wished him health, energy, and strength to "serve Russia".
At the end of September, the Brussels-based “Russian House” published a statement by the head of “Rossotrudnichestvo” Igor Chaika. He compared those calling for the centers to be closed to Sharykov from Bulgakovʼs “Heart of a Dog”, and — in response — suggested that Russia supporters apply for microgrants from the agency and urged them not to listen to the "Kyiv junta, which destroyed Ukrainian statehood".
Concert "Under the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos" with the participation of the Youth Bishopsʼ Choir of the Brussels-Belgium Diocese, October 7, 2026.
rushouse.be
Cultural centers used by Russian special services
European intelligence agencies have long been paying attention to the network as a whole. The Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service confirmed that Russian "science and culture centers" are regularly used as cover by FSB and Russian Foreign Intelligence Service officers.
One of the most high-profile cases of such a cover-up was exposed in Denmark. In 2023, the Russian House in Copenhagen was a meeting place for Russian embassy employees who were later identified as spies.
The center also collaborated with the Technical University of Denmark, holding conferences and seminars with it. University researcher Alexey Nikiforov attended “Russian House” events and was later sentenced to three years in prison for espionage. According to the prosecution, he collected information about green technologies at the university and the company “SerEnergy” and passed it on to Russian intelligence for money.
A man removes a Russian flag from the facade of the "Russian House" on City Hall Square in Copenhagen, September 27, 2023.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
In September, Lithuanian MEP Rasa Juknevičienė (a member of the European Parliamentʼs Security and Defense Committee) directly mentioned the Brussels center among the institutions still operating in EU countries. She called them centers of Russian special services that are openly trying to influence European politics.
“Rossotrudnichestvo” is under sanctions, but its "house" is still working
The European Union imposed sanctions on “Rossotrudnichestvo” in July 2022. The sanctions decision called the agency one of the main instruments of the Kremlinʼs "soft power" and hybrid influence. After that, the “Russian Houses” stopped (or suspended) their work in Slovenia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Romania. The center in Slovakia was initially closed, but resumed work in the summer of 2025.
Meanwhile, the European Commission emphasizes that the decision to close such institutions does not fall within its authority. At a briefing in Brussels on September 3, spokeswoman Paula Pinho stated that it is up to member states to deal with the "houses" that represent Russia in EU countries.
Therefore, each “Russian House” has its own history. Some stopped working due to sanctions, others after the reduction of Russian diplomatic staff. In other countries, agreements concluded with Russia long before the Great War had to be terminated.
This happened in Germany. In September 2026, the German government terminated the agreement under which the “Russian House” in Berlin operated. Before that, German investigators and intelligence found out that Russia had planned an attack with a drone carrying explosives on the “Leipzig-Halle” airport. In response, Berlin also closed the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and expelled more than 150 employees of Russian missions and their family members.
However, even in Berlin, the “Russian House” could not be closed immediately. Its work is regulated by a bilateral agreement, and the building itself belongs to Russia. Therefore, legally, the institution must finally close only in 2027.
Protest in Berlin in support of the "Russian House", September 18, 2026.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Moldova: the "house" closed, and a part of work transferred to the embassy
The Russian Center for Science and Culture opened in Chisinau in 2009. It was run by the Russian embassy and financed by “Rossotrudnichestvo”. The “house” operated under an agreement that Moldova and Russia signed back in October 1998. Formally, it was reciprocal — each country could open a cultural center on the territory of the other. However, Moldova never created a similar institution in Russia.
The last straw that broke the agreement with the Russians was the Russian drones. On February 13, 2025, the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the head of the Russian diplomatic mission after two attack UAVs crashed in the south of the country. The Russian diplomat was shown their wreckage, and after the meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that it was closing the center.
Anyway, Moldova could not close it immediately. The agreement was automatically extended for five years if one of the parties did not notify the withdrawal at least 6 months before the end of the next term.
The nearest such date was July 4, 2026.
During the massive Russian drone attack on Ukraine on the night of February 13, several drones flew into the territory of Moldova. One of the drones fell in a field near the village of Ciumai, Taraclia district. Another drone exploded in a field between the town of Ceadir-Lunga and the village of Vala-Perzhey. According to the General Inspectorate of Police, the fragments found in Ceadir-Lunga belong to a Russian drone.
X (Twitter) / «Бабель»
In November 2025, the Moldovan government denounced the document. The Culture Minister Cristian Jardan stated that the center was cultural in name only and covered up activities against Moldovan sovereignty.
The authorities also accused the institution of spreading propaganda. 57 out of 101 members of parliament voted to denounce the agreement. Russia called the decision “Russophobic”. The next day, President Maia Sandu signed the law, and on July 4, 2026, the “Russian House” in Chisinau officially closed.
However, its activities did not disappear with the building. The Russian embassy reported that some of the centerʼs functions would be taken over by its cultural department. Among them are the selection of students for places at Russian universities under government quotas and other programs of so-called humanitarian cooperation.
At the same time, the authorities of unrecognized Transnistria proposed opening a new "Russian House" in Tiraspol. The Moldovan Reintegration Bureau said that Tiraspol does not have the legal authority to do so.
The speaker of the Moldovan parliament Igor Grosu called this initiative "a provocation from Russia".
On June 26, a creative evening of the Russian Ambassador to Moldova Oleg Ozerov and the Moldovan poet, translator, and publicist Boris Marian was held at the "Russian House" in Chisinau. Ambassadors of Russia and Belarus to Moldova Oleg Ozerov and Anatoly Buben, together with representatives of the Russian and Belarusian communities, laid flowers at the monument to Taras Shevchenko, May 4, 2026.
moldova.mid.ru
Russian courses cost 620 euros, and moving to Kurgan is free
Meanwhile, in Brussels, they have not decided to close the “house”. The Belgian authorities do not disclose the exact conditions under which the center operates and how its paid services comply with the sanctions against “Rossotrudnichestvo”.
On its website, the “house” writes that it works “at the Russian embassy”. Registration and payment for language courses are offered at the premises of the “Russian House”. 60 hours of training cost 620 euros. It is actually unclear from open information who receives the money and under what contract the center uses the building on Rue du Méridien.
The “house” also prepares for the state exam in Russian as a foreign language. On a separate page, it offers help with applications to Russian universities — from MGIMO to the Gnessin Academy. The application deadline there is dated January 15, 2026, and the page has not been updated since then.
The “Russian House” also promotes state programs that are supposed to encourage people to move to the Russian Federation. This summer, the Brussels center presented a state resettlement program to the Kurgan region. The “Russian Dream” project promises participants land plots, housing subsidies, and assistance with employment.
Advertisement for moving to the regions of the Russian Federation on the website of the “Russian House” in Brussels.
rushouse.be
On October 6, 71 MEPs called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, and EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas to investigate how the Russian Houses are financed, how they are linked to embassies and “Rossotrudnichestvo”, what the status of their employees is, and who owns the buildings.
Separately, MEPs suggested bringing the issue to a meeting of the EU Council on Foreign Affairs. The authors of the letter acknowledged that the centers operate under different schemes and there is really no single way to close them.
However, MEPs stressed that this cannot be an excuse for inaction. The European Union has already recognized “Rossotrudnichestvo” as part of the Kremlinʼs system of influence, but has still not dealt with the institutions through which this system operates in European cities.
This publication was produced as part of the “Seizing Synergies” project, implemented by n-ost and supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of BMZ.