Czechia announces plan to reopen Czech Center in Moscow

The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to relaunch its cultural presence in Moscow later this year with a virtual Czech Center, more than three years after activities at the facility were suspended following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Czech Center in Moscow, located in the so-called Czech House, closed in March 2022 as part of Prague’s response to the full-scale war launched by Russia on Feb. 24 of that year. Officials say the new online format will allow the Czech Republic to present its culture, science and art to the Russian public while maintaining its political stance against the Kremlin.

“One of the current topics not only of Czech public diplomacy is the issue of relations with the majority Russian society,” Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told Czech media outlet iDnes.cz. “We have long lacked direct contact with the Russian public, and at the same time, we realize that there are people in Russian society who share our values and whom we want to support and reach out to.”

Lipavský emphasized that the step does not signal support for Russia’s government. “We are taking this approach with awareness of all the risks, but also with the conviction that culture, as a universal language, can maintain an open space even where other forms of contact fail,” he said, adding that projects will reflect Czech cultural and value standards.

Jitka Pánek Jurková, director of the Czech Centers network, confirmed that the online platform is expected to launch in the second half of 2025. She said the move reflects both the interruption of Czech-Russian cultural exchange and the broader shift of public diplomacy into digital spaces.

“We cannot be happy about the interruption of the tradition of Czech-Russian cultural exchange,” Pánek Jurková said. “Communication in public diplomacy is largely moving to the virtual space. We will draw on the experience of other countries, where we create original content for the online environment.”

Programming could include video interviews with cultural figures tied to both countries, distributed mainly through social media platforms popular in Russia, according to the ministry.

The Czech Centers, a network overseen by the Foreign Ministry since 1993, operate in 26 locations worldwide. Recent openings include Hanoi, Taipei and Belgrade, while branches in Athens and Rotterdam have closed.

The Czech House in Moscow, the largest Czech government property abroad, remains closed. The facility, which once hosted offices, apartments, conference rooms and a restaurant, curtailed most operations after a 2021 diplomatic dispute over Russian involvement in the Vrbětice ammunition depot explosion.