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Not so lucky, though, were the Muscovy ducks that graced the pond of the US ambassador's residence in Regent's Park, Winfield House.

Shaipov said Muscovy inherited its political culture not from Europe, but from the Mongol Empire of which it had long been a vassal.

Mr Roper said a Muscovy duck had died after eating a dead fish, while a large number of black-headed gulls had disappeared after picking up dead fish floating on the water.

In the 17th century, repeated betrayals drove Ukraine into the arms of an ersatz ally, the Prince of Muscovy, who promptly proclaimed Ukraine was a subject, not an ally.

The early rulers of Muscovy — the medieval state that would become Russia — looked to Europe for models for their court culture soon after they began consolidating power in the 15th century.