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Origin and history

The house of the Cossonnerie, also called the Russian House, is an old bourgeois property built in the 18th century on the site of a farm. It underwent major changes in the 19th century and was acquired under the First Empire by Baron Fain, secretary of Napoleon I. This place illustrates the residential architecture of the Île-de-France, marked by successive transformations.

In 1926, British philanthropist Dorothy Paget bought the Cossonnerie to become a retirement home dedicated to white Russian refugees, under the direction of Princess Vera Mestchersky. Inaugurated in 1927 as the Russian House, it welcomed members of the aristocracy and the former Russian elite. An Orthodox cemetery and a church (Saint-Nicolas) are located nearby for residents.

The site gained a cultural and memorial dimension: Alexandre Soljenitsyne stayed there in the 1960s for his research on August 1914. In 1995, modern renovations were added. Partially classified as historical monuments in 2012, the house has since 2016 been home to a Russian immigration archive, funded by Russia and inaugurated by Ambassador Alexander Orlov.

The Russian House remains a symbol of Russian exile in France, with two inner chapels (including a funeral) and a preserved park. His story is documented in media such as Libération (1995) or Le Parisien (2015), and in the documentary Mémoires d'exil by Frédéric Mitterrand (1999).

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