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Saturday Feature
 
Russia reopens probe of British Council
Arkady Ostrovsky from Moscow
2/4/2006
 

          Russian prosecutors said on January 24 they had reopened criminal investigations against the British Council in St Petersburg a day after the country's security services accused British diplomats of spying and financing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Russia.
The British embassy in Moscow branded the move "unwarranted", and UK government officials said it was evidence of the Russian government's hostile stance towards NGOs. "They have difficulty with the funding of people who promote democracy," one senior official said. "They are trying to up the ante with more pressure on NGOs."
Earlier however, Jack Straw, UK foreign secretary, had a more upbeat assessment of Anglo-Russian relations: "We've got good relations with the government of Russia," he said. "Relations will continue."
The investigation is a sign of increasing tension between Russia and the UK.
Although Tony Blair was the first foreign leader to endorse Vladimir Putin as Russian president in the hope of forging a special relationship with a former cold war adversary, relations turned sour when Britain refused to extradite Boris Berezovsky, a former oligarch, and Akhmed Zakaev, one of the leaders of the ousted Chechen government. Britain has also given shelter to employees of Yukos, the oil company once owned by Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Investigations into the British Council's commercial activity in Russia, in particular its English language teaching programme, first began two years ago, when Russian police raided the council's offices, claiming it was involved in illegal commercial activity on which on tax was paid.
Last year the British Council settled all back tax claims, totalling £1.4m ($2.5m), and registered as a regular tax payer. The case was formally closed last December, but the investigation was reopened around the middle of last month coinciding with a public attack by the Federal Securities Services (FSB) on British diplomats allegedly involved in espionage and financing of non governmental organisations in Russia.
Analysts said the attack on the British Council and Russian non-governmental organisations financed by foreign governments is part of an attempt to stamp out foreign influence in Russia and justify a draconian law restricting activities of Russian NGOs signed by Mr Putin last month.
The footage of what the FSB claimed were British diplomats downloading secret information from a fake rock was shown on January 22 on a state television programme.
The main message of the programme, however, was that some Russian charities and human rights organisations, including a highly respected Moscow Helsinki Group and Eurasia Foundation, are financed by British intelligence services.

 

 
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