The Scottish department store near the Bolshoi Theatre inspired an affection that contrasted sharply with Westminster’s Russophobia.

When Lord Salisbury asked the Russian Minister of the Interior how many agents the Tsar had in India, the reply came as a shock.

William Stead warned his fellow-journalists to take care that their bellicose rhetoric did not end in a real war with Russia.

Scotsman Samuel Greig so impressed his superiors at the Admiralty in London that he was sent as an adviser to the Russian Imperial Navy.

While the besieged citizens of Novgorod huddled for protection in the city gaol, Archbishop John remained in his cathedral to pray.

It is one of the world’s most recognisable works of art, and a symbol of God’s blessing on all Christian Rus’.