Moscow: The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has formally declared the activities of the British Council undesirable in Russia. “The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has made a decision to designate the activities of the British Council international organization as undesirable in the Russian Federation,” the body said.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, while the British Council claims to be an independent organization, it has based its work around the British government’s priorities, is accountable to parliament, and is funded by the UK’s foreign policy agency, the Prosecutor General’s Office said. “Under the guise of educational and cultural activities and work to organize educational events under the pretext of English-language programs, members of the Council actually promote long-term British interests and values in education, culture, and youth policy,” it noted.
The Russian prosecutors further explained that the British Council has actively supported the LGBT movement, outlawed in Russia, and implements projects to discredit Russia’s domestic and foreign policies. The aim is also to “eradicate Russian identity among the populations of former Soviet republics.” As part of a consortium with other undesirable organizations, the British Council implements a program of so-called “cultural cooperation” designed to unite the anti-Russian Baltic states.
The organization views work with the young generation as its key task, involving members of its Chevening scholarship and fellowship program in a mission to build “a global network of agents of British influence,” the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office stated. The British Council, which calls itself “the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities,” said in 2018 that it had been told to cease operations in Russia.
“The security service recommends partners from friendly nations to follow Moscow’s example in curbing the functioning of the Council on their soil,” the FSB noted. Furthermore, the FSB has exposed the intelligence and subversive activities of the British Oxford Russia Fund, which is also recognized as an undesirable organization in the Russian Federation.
The Fund reportedly carried out its intelligence and subversive operations through faculty members of universities in the Volgograd, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, and Tomsk regions of Russia. Representatives of these educational institutions distributed literature promoting LGBT propaganda and, through a network of contacts, collected information about the political and social situation in the Russian Federation amid the special military operation.
The FSB also stated that 15 Russian citizens received warnings about the inadmissibility of working with undesirable organizations. One teacher has been held administratively liable under the relevant article.