https://www.reddit.com/r/Amsterdam/comments/1j5mkvc/mysterious_russian_compound_in_the_veluwelaan/
created by Th3_Accountant on 07/03/2025 at 12:41 UTC
95 upvotes, 5 top-level comments (showing 5)
This may come off as a strange question and I hope someone might give an answer that makes this all less exiting than it sounds,
Several years back I had an appointment at the Liberaal Joodse Gemeente in Amsterdam South and I was told to look for a school building with a large fence with camera security around it. So I arrived at the Veluwelaan and saw this old building that seemed to fit the description. I noticed behind the fence there were two cars (both older Mercedes E-Classes), one with Russian plates and one with diplomatic licence plates but didn't think anything of it.
I couldn't really find a clear entrance but I noticed an open gate (because someone was taking out the garbage) and simply walked in and talked to the first person I saw. This person who didn't speak Dutch looked at me a bit confused but then simply guided me out and pointed out I had to be at the building at the end of the street.
But to this day I wonder what I walked into? At the Jewish school they didn't really know anything about what was in that building and google maps also never showed anything at that location. I assumed it was just an office building belonging to the Russian Embassy or maybe a consul of some sort. But there were no flags or any signs on the outside indicating what it was. I really wonder if I walked into some secret Russian intelligence base or something.
Does anyone know the building I'm talking about and know what is in this building? I'm assuming it's a lot less exiting than what I've imagined all these years but I am dying with curiosity.
Comment by bert1600 at 07/03/2025 at 13:32 UTC
82 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Yeah this was a full blown KGB Office
https://www.parool.nl/cs-b22a45d8/[1][2]
1: https://www.parool.nl/cs-b22a45d8/
2: https://www.parool.nl/cs-b22a45d8/
Comment by Sjonnie_Spain at 08/03/2025 at 09:14 UTC
20 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I used to live on the corner of that street, above the petrol station, in the late 70's.
We all knew it as the "Russische handelsdelegatie" but as a kid we already figured out that it must be spies as it was highly secured. We used to climb onto everything except that building as fences etc. made it impossible. And my dad who told me not to hang around there...
Comment by DameJudyPinch at 08/03/2025 at 10:26 UTC
15 upvotes, 1 direct replies
The mental image of /u/Th3_Accountant unsuspectingly veering into a KGB-hole like "L'chaim, fellow liberal Jews!", when their gaze is met by a deep-smoked, stone-faced apparachik.
...Oy vey!
Comment by BoredWordler at 08/03/2025 at 15:12 UTC
13 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Side note: even North Korea has/had bases in Amsterdam, usually in the form of Asian restaurants that would often only exist for a few months. They were easy to spot because of the female singers during dinner, a typical North Korean tradition, of course no other restaurants in Amsterdam would do such a thing… the level of stupidity was not limited to that because the food was so overpriced that is was suspicious… the food itself was ‘meh’…
Comment by jebwillnotdivideus at 08/03/2025 at 10:43 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
You might be surprised but our intelligence services have direct contact and connections with other international agencies including the KGB. Despite how Russia is portrayed as “our enemy”, till this date we are still in close contact with them regarding many issues. Hence why we were probably also aware of their compound in Amsterdam.
Mossad is also located in Amsterdam and the CIA even has multiple buildings in The Netherlands. You would be surprised how many things are a secret to the public, but well known by the government.