Which places in Russia have portrayed London? (PHOTOS)
In Soviet and, later, Russian cinema, various cities have successfully played the role.
St. Petersburg
We guess we could say the northern capital is the most "English" of Russian cities! Its architecture is ideal for filming Victorian England.
For the multi-part adaptation of the novels about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, numerous spectacular locations were found there. In the episode based on the story ‘A Study in Scarlet’, you can see Princess Saltykova's ‘dacha’ (aka country house), which "played" the empty house in Lauriston Gardens, where the poisoner's victim is found.
The mansions and alleys on St. Petersburg's Kamenny Island are also veritable movie stars. Bartholomew Sholto's estate, Pondicherry Lodge, was filmed at Countess Kleinmichel's ‘dacha’. Not far from there is the "house of Irene Adler", the woman who broke Sherlock Holmes's heart. The Gauswald ‘dacha’ was chosen for this "role".
Houses owned by members of the imperial family also featured in Holmes movies. Scenes at the Diogenes Club were filmed in the palace of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich: there, Mycroft Holmes met with his brother Sherlock and his companion, Dr. Watson.
St. Petersburg was also a favorite destination for other literary Englishmen. For example, Jack the Ripper: for the series ‘Whiplash’, the dark London alleys where the maniac operated were found on the grounds of the Red Triangle factory. Just imagine: dilapidated red brick buildings lit only by spotlights, the classic dreary St. Petersburg rain – and here we have the London slums on screen.
Scenes of London were filmed on Novgorodskaya, Starorusskaya and 8th Sovetskaya Streets for the movie ‘Eleven Silent Men’, about Moscow Dynamo Moscow playing friendly matches against English clubs in November 1945.
Neman
The Soviet comedy ‘Three Men in a Boat’, based on a short story by Jerome K. Jerome, was filmed in the ancient town of Neman in Kaliningrad Region. When the main character leaves home with his friends, saying, "London is always London, but, here, the weather is on our side again," he says these words while on Pravda Street. The local pre-war buildings provided an excellent backdrop for the 19th-century British capital. And the Neman River "starred" as the River Thames in this movie.
Moscow
From the very first frames of the comedy ‘Hello, I'm Your Aunt!’, those who have ever visited the Kuskovo Estate will recognize the Dutch House. The small red brick building in the movie became Jackie Chesney's home. And it's there that petty crook Babs Baberley ends up, forced to pretend to be Donna Rosa, an aunt from Brazil.
