The government of Russia owes the taxpayers of the ACT more than $77,000 in unpaid parking and speeding fines - $77,523.77, to be precise.
The diplomats at the embassy on Canberra Avenue are far ahead of those of any other country when it comes to not paying penalties.
For parking, figures from the ACT government show 161 tickets remained unpaid at the beginning of December. Next worst was Romania with 15 unpaid fines and then jointly Nepal and Samoa, each with 11.
The Russian embassy's unpaid parking tickets added up to $20,929.77 out of $29,977.49 for all embassies combined.
For speeding, Russia's unpaid fines amounted to $56,594.00, more than half the $107,948 total. The embassy said the unpaid fines were old ones and they were negotiating with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on how to pay them.
"Let us assure you that this embassy is very serious about respecting laws and regulations of the receiving state as stipulated in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," a statement from the embassy said.
"The Canberra Times could easily find out that since 2018 it has been the strict practice for us to cover without delay all newly imposed fines for parking and traffic infringements.
"In respect to the rather important amount accrued in preceding years, there is an ongoing discussion with the DFAT on this matter. We hope that acceptable solutions could be found."
It is not clear what the sticking point is.
DFAT said: "The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade expects diplomats to obey Australia's laws and pay fines promptly. DFAT regularly remind diplomatic missions of their responsibility to abide by Australia's road rules."
It's been chivvying embassies to pay up. There is evidence of some - but not total - success. At the beginning of 2017, $583,891.79 was unpaid by all embassies for speeding and parking fines and also jumping red lights. The latest figures had that figure down to $166,808.49.
A new entrant on the list of shame is the British High Commission, with one unpaid parking ticket for $159. The United States also has a single unpaid ticket for $159.
On speeding, Romania was second (as it was with parking). Its embassy had $9697 to pay.
Some embassies have cleaned up their acts (or at least paid up for parking and speeding fines faster).
In 2018, The Canberra Times reported: "Saudi Arabian diplomats in Canberra have clocked up more than $140,000 in traffic fines, hooning around the capital in their official cars, but authorities are powerless to make the Saudis pay.
"The Saudis are Canberra's worst-behaved diplomats with more than 550 fines outstanding for speeding, running red lights and parking where they please around the city, ACT government data reveals."
Four years ago, Saudi Arabian embassy staff were notorious for their speeding. One drove at 135km/h past Parliament House at 2am on a Tuesday, leading police on a pursuit. When he was caught, he failed to provide a valid drivers' licence and, according to reports of the time, blamed it all on a lack of antibiotics.
Another said he hadn't drunk a drop but still managed to return a blood alcohol reading of 0.15, triple the legal limit.
Yet the Saudis have a clean sheet on this year's parking and speeding lists.
Russia has not changed its ways, though. In 2021, it was also top of the list for unpaid fines, with $95,479.77 outstanding.
Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, diplomats have immunity from prosecution so there's nothing that can be done about unpaid fines except to shame the transgressor or at least their embassy.
Maybe shaming has had some effect. Since the days of the speeding diplomats, all embassies seem to have calmed down (or learned to pay up). In 2018, foreign embassies owed more than $500,000 in fines compared with this year's fraction: $77,000.
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