The Democratic Piece

In December the Kremlin informed the British Government that branches of the British Council in St. Petersberg and Yekaterinburg would have to close at the start of the year. The British Council is a UK-funded organization that promotes cultural exchanges and is located in UK embassies and consulates in more than 110 countries around the world. I recommend checking out their website linked above to examine the menacing work that they carry out. They even have a page detailing their recent problems with the Russian government.

It appears that the British Government will stand firm and refuse to voluntarily close the office, forcing the Russian government to take more drastic measures to shut them down. The Russian government has already threatened to bring tax violation cases against the group and refuse to provide visas to British Council staff.

This is the first time that I can remember that a Western government and stood up to the Kremlin’s attempts to bully organizations that it does not agree with. How this feud develops will tell us a lot about the extent to which the Kremlin will go to remove foreign organizations it deems unfriendly and if a stronger stance against the Kremlin when they attempt to kick out organizations is fruitful.

The expulsion of the British Council’s offices outside Moscow are largely tied to a decline in diplomatic relations between the Kremlin and the British government following the assassination of Litvinenko. Many suspect that the Russian government or a rouge element of the Russian state acting in what was assumed to be Putin’s wishes is responsible for Litvinenko being killed by an exposure to Polonium-210, a highly radioactive material that resulted in his slow, painful death. After the Kremlin blocked any serious inquiry into potential elements in Russia, a series of diplomatic retaliations has followed.

UPDATE:  Robert Amsterdam has some great analysis on this story today.