The Britain-Russia Centre, Scotland, was founded in 1959 as the Scottish Branch of the Great Britain-USSR Association. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the branch became the Scottish Branch of the Great Britain-Russia Association, before becoming the Britain-Russia Centre, Scotland, in the later 1990s. The aim of the organisation was to promote understanding between the two areas through personal and professional contacts on a politically impartial basis. The organisation was supported by the British Government and worked closely with the British Council and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The Britain-Russia Centre, Scotland, ceased to exist in August 2002 following the withdrawal of its funding from the UK Government and the need to vacate its offices which it leased from the British Council, Bruntsfield Crescent, Edinburgh, when the British Council office itself closed.