← Back to overview

Parcel Collection Point at the Russian House

RusPost GmbH – the only official branch of the Russian state postal service anywhere in the world – has been operating a parcel collection point inside the sanctioned Russian House Berlin since 2018. Open daily, while prosecutors investigate.

📦
Confirmed – March 2026 The parcel collection service for shipments to Russia continues to operate: Mon–Fri 12:00–17:30. The Russian House is on the EU sanctions list. Prosecutors have been investigating since April 2024 – against persons unknown and against tenants of the Russian House. A first investigation launched in January 2023 was dropped because the operators hold diplomatic status.
2018
Branch opened in the porter's lodge of the Russian House
1
The only official branch of the Russian state postal service outside Russia – anywhere in the world. Registered address: Buckower Chaussee, Berlin.
daily
Routes Berlin–Moscow, delivery in 4–5 days, Europe-wide collection
📬 What we know – verified facts +
  • In May 2018, a branch of the Russian state postal service was opened in the former porter's lodge of the Russian HouseOst-Impuls, May 2018
  • RusPost GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Russian state postal service – and the only official branch outside the Russian Federation anywhere in the worldRusPost GmbH, own website
  • RusPost GmbH is listed as commercially active in the company register – last entry September 2024Berlin Company Register, 2024
  • According to user reports from March 2026, postal operations at the Russian House continue: Mon–Fri 12:00–17:30, break 15:00–16:00
  • Activist Henry Lindemeier observed over an extended period that vans regularly collected large quantities of parcels from in front of the Russian House
  • People entering the Russian House carrying parcels – visibly documented from outside
⚠️ Why this is relevant under sanctions law +
  • Rossotrudnichestvo – the operator of the Russian House – has been on the EU sanctions list since July 2022: all assets frozen, provision of funds prohibited
  • This means: no commercial activities, no revenues, no economic transactions
  • A parcel collection service is a commercial activity – it generates revenue or at minimum enables financial flows
  • Berlin prosecutors have been investigating since April 2024 – "against persons unknown and against tenants of the Russian House" for suspected violations of the Foreign Trade and Payments ActTagesspiegel / Berliner Zeitung, April 2024
  • A first investigation launched in January 2023 was dropped – because the operators hold diplomatic status. Authorities had to find another approachTagesspiegel, September 2023
  • The Central Sanctions Enforcement Office at German Customs regards the Russian House as an "unseparated branch" of Rossotrudnichestvo – and therefore directly sanctionedBerliner Zeitung, April 2024
  • Whether the postal operation is part of this investigation is not known – but the question is obvious
  • The Russian state postal service is directly controlled by the Russian state – it is not a private company
🚨 Prohibited goods & criminal proceedings +
  • Customs authorities found prohibited goods in dozens of parcels that RusPost was transporting from Germany to Moscow: electronic devices, cash and jewelleryBild / FOCUS online, 27 January 2026
  • The Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office intends to charge a senior RusPost manager in connection with these findingsFOCUS online, 27 January 2026
  • A parallel bypass network based in Cologne has been identified: a company founded by former employees of a German RusPost subsidiary offers shipping services through Russian supermarkets
  • Parcels were labelled with stickers from the Uzbek state postal service (UzPost) – a company that, according to Germany's Federal Network Agency, is not permitted to operate in GermanyFOCUS online, 27 January 2026
  • Journalists packed parcels with sanctioned contents and submitted them – the goods were tracked by GPS transmitter and confirmed to have reached RussiaBild / FOCUS online, 27 January 2026
  • Insiders report a confidential agreement between the Russian and Uzbek state postal services – both parties confirmed the cooperationFOCUS online, 27 January 2026
🏛️ Who authorised this? +
  • The branch was opened in 2018 – four years after the annexation of Crimea, but four years before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine
  • Who on the German side granted authorisation – or whether any authorisation was sought at all – is not publicly known
  • The Foreign Office has not commented on this matter
  • After the 2022 invasion and the introduction of EU sanctions, the authorisation should have been reviewed and revoked
  • Instead the branch continues to operate – as though the sanctions did not exist
🔍 What remains unclear +
  • Who operates the branch today – RusPost GmbH directly, or another service provider?
  • What goods are being shipped – and who is checking?
  • Are parcels also received from Russia into Germany – and who controls their contents?
  • Do revenues from the postal operation flow to Rossotrudnichestvo or to the Russian state postal service?
  • Are customs authorities and the Federal Prosecutor's Office aware of the operation?
  • Is there a connection between the Berlin branch and the Cologne bypass network?

Open questions for politicians and authorities

Investigation ongoing

This page is updated continuously. Tips and documents welcome at: [email protected]