18 Apr 2015

Kremlin Art Repository Moscow - London

In Octopussy, General Orlov is called to the Art Repository in the Kremlin. Lenkin, the curator has summoned the general when he realises that the reproduction of the Fabergé egg has been stolen by 009. General Orlov and Lenkin are working together with Kamal Khan to switch the Russian national treasures with reproductions, in order to sell the genuine jewelry in Switzerland. The exterior of the Kremlin Art Repository can however not be found in Moscow, but in a most unexpected place.

The building seen in the background is called Trafalgar Quarters
For obvious reasons during the cold war, none of the Russian scenes were filmed in Moscow. The building is located in the middle of England, namely in Greenwich, east London. The entrance can be found along College Way, in one of the buildings that belong to the University of Greenwich. The door leads in to part of the building that is called Chapel at the old Royal Naval College.


The small entrance featured in the film can be seen on the left building, with an identical door on the building to the right.  


The exterior sign with Russian soldiers seen marching in the background can also be seen later in the film, when General Gogol and the curator of the hermitage arrive to examine the Romanov star, although they are not seen entering the building.


Part of the scene where the two soldiers are saluting General Orlov as he enters, was for some reason cut from at least one of the limited edition DVD boxes.



The man playing Lenkin can of course be recognized from The Living Daylights, where he portrayed the pipeline supervisor at the Czechoslovakian plant. The man is Peter Porteous, who was British actor and his supporting roles in the two Bond films may perhaps be explained by the fact that he was married to Emma Porteous, who was the costume designer in OctopussyA View to a Kill and The Living Daylights.




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