Tirana’s Russian embassy has upped and moved from its long-standing location, just a couple of months after the road it is situated on changed its name to Free Ukraine Street.
During the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tirana was among the first cities to change the name of the road where their respective Russian embassies were located to names in support of Ukraine. This would mean the official address of the embassy, to be used on all official communications, would require referencing a statement in support of Russia’s opponent.
The street quickly became a landmark among tourists who posed for pictures in front of the road sign with the Russian flag fluttering behind it. It was soon joined by Ukrainian flags and pavement art in blue and yellow.
In April, the embassy suspended all work for “technical reasons”. While as of this week, a new address has been announced, and all flags and signs have been removed from the building. Its new location is far from Free Ukraine Street on Dervishi Shaba Street, yet Google is still to update it to its new home.
