Welcome to the site dedicated to the British colony that existed in Moscow from 1553 to 1920!
The story of the pre-revolutionary British colony in Moscow is one of the forgotten pages in Russian and British history. When St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Moscow reopened as a place of worship in the early 1990s, the first person to find out more about its past was Mrs. Jean Coussmaker, wife of Canon Chad Coussmaker, OBE, chaplain of St. Andrew's 1993-1999 - its first chaplain after the 1917 Revolution . Based on her research at the Guildhall Library in London, Jean wrote "A History of St. Andrew's"- the center of the British community in Moscow.
"And so, after 6 years in Moscow, Chad is retiring, and we are leaving here; another page is being turned in the history of St. Andrew's. This has only been a brief overview of the story of the Moscow chaplaincy; there is still a lot more to discover, and I hope that someone will take over the exciting task of research."
Jean Coussmaker, "A History of St. Andrew's" (click on the title to read it) published in the St. Andrew's Parish magazine, 1999
Jean Coussmaker, "A History of St. Andrew's" (click on the title to read it) published in the St. Andrew's Parish magazine, 1999
"We have much in records since the Russia Company came here in 1553-1555. But also we have parts of the jigsaw puzzle which are missing – like the names of the families, all the families; their relationships with Russia of the time. And I suspect that somewhere in Moscow, somewhere in London and somewhere in St. Petersburg the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle still have to be discovered. And that makes it very exciting – to find out what was actually going on, to find out who was here, who formed the society here of the time."
Canon Dr. Simon Stephens, OBE, Chaplain of St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Moscow 1999-2014
in his interview from this video of 2006 (4:23)
Canon Dr. Simon Stephens, OBE, Chaplain of St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Moscow 1999-2014
in his interview from this video of 2006 (4:23)
I feel happy and honoured to "take over the exciting task of research" and discover "the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle". Since I began, I've found out that this story is not as forgotten, as it might seem. I began with stones but soon encountered the gift of a human memory - descendants of those who lived in Moscow who have preserved the old documents, and researchers who have collected and kept some of the family archives. Still, the overall picture - "the names of the families, all families, their relationships with Russia of the time" is still missing. This is what my project is about.
This is a work in progress. If you would like to share any information with me or would like to find out something about your ancestors, people or events you are doing research on, I would be very happy if you contacted me.