Why does Britain always scold Russia?

"Londonegler" has a hidden crisis, and geopolitical conflicts are difficult to reconcile.

The relationship between Britain and Russia suddenly fell to freezing point, the western camp launched an "encirclement and suppression" against Russia, and the media exclaimed that the "new cold war" was coming ... A confusing poisoning case set off geopolitical disputes between the East and the West, but such a scene was somewhat embarrassing.

In 20 13, when Russian exiled tycoon berezovsky was found dead in the bathroom of his London apartment (at that time, it was identified as suicide), the British "Daily Telegraph" warned that "if it is not a 007 novel, it is a new cold war"; In 2006, litvinenko, a former Russian intelligence agent, died of poisoning, and the title of "Cold War reappearance" also appeared in British newspapers. Why is it always England? Why do so many Russian exiles, oligarchs and former agents gather in Britain?

"Putin's friends and former friends, enemies and allies are gathered here."

One day in June 5438+February 2004, the Russian Federal Security Service arrested a former agent who had just returned from Britain. They want to know if this man has defected. It turns out that this former "patriot" met with British diplomats and agents many times as early as 1995. About six years later, the United States and Russia reached an agreement to exchange arrested spies. At the request of Britain, the former agent regained his freedom and came to Britain.

Krippahl and his daughter.

This man is Krippahl-23 diplomats were recently expelled from each other by Britain and Russia for poisoning. On 20 10, there was another person-Igor Sutyagin, who was sent to England on the same plane with him. The nuclear physics expert is now engaged in Russian political research in a think tank in London, completely changing from "science" to "liberal arts". If you are not familiar with the history of that year, it is hard to imagine that this scholar was accused of giving confidential military data to Americans.

When it comes to why Britain and Russia often make bad friends, I have to say that these people involved in the dispute between Britain and Russia. They are hiding in England. Although many people are very low-key, they are still a very prominent group. A considerable number of them are called "exiles". Among them, there are the aforementioned people who participated in the intelligence war, and there are also civil rights figures-the most famous one is Vladimir bukovski. He was arrested many times for propagating western democracy during the Soviet period, and then came to Britain when the Soviet Union exchanged political prisoners with the West. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, he was refused entry by Russia for telling Yeltsin's government what to do.

In addition, there are Russian oligarchs in exile, Chechen separatists and wealthy immigrants from different backgrounds. According to Reuters, some wealthy Russians said that they came to Britain because they opposed the Kremlin. For example, after 20 10 was dismissed as the mayor of Moscow, Luzhkov and his family moved to London for fear of personal safety. Last year, in June+February, 5438, Luzhkov's wife, Russian richest woman Batulina, became the head of a charity.

Of course, "exiles" cannot sum up all Russians in Britain. According to statistics, there are at least 300,000 Russians in Britain, including more than 20,000 in London, so that they are called "Londoners" or "Moscow on the Thames". There are not only oligarchs, but also Russian agents, former agents, politicians and various professionals. Among them, the most concerned is the Russian rich. It is reported that about 10% to 15% of the list of 96 so-called Russian oligarchs published by the US Treasury in May 438+10 have close ties with Britain.

The most famous residents of Londonegler include Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club, and Usmanov, the major shareholder of Arsenal Football Club. The Guardian 18 reported that Abramovich was the governor of a remote area in eastern Russia, and Usmanov played a role in the construction of the venues for the Winter Olympics in Sochi or the 20 18 World Cup. It is said that some oligarchs also provide other services for Moscow, such as providing funds for the extreme right movement and sponsoring anti-EU think tanks and publications.

"What kind of place is this? As described by an immigrant, Russian politicians on vacation can have a leisurely dinner with dissident novelists who speak at anti-Putin gatherings. A recent article in Australia's Sydney Morning Herald wrote: "Many Putin's friends and former friends, enemies and allies gathered in this hot money place. "

London has become a safe haven for Russians. Why?

Historically, London has always been one of the destinations for elites and rich people from all over the world. London benefited from the influx of super-rich people-American bankers who came and went regularly, Arab chiefs in the 1970s, and Japanese in the 1980s. In the 1990s, Russia was in chaos. Some people go bankrupt, some people get rich instantly, and London is their safe haven.

Compared with other European countries, Britain has many advantages. First of all, "getting started" is simple. Britain is open to foreign investment immigrants. In the past, you only needed to buy bonds worth more than 6,543,800+to obtain permanent residency and British citizenship. Moreover, there are many international private aristocratic schools in Britain, which are beneficial to children's education. In addition, Britain with a colonial history is more open to immigrants and has a more diverse culture.

Kevin Pierre, a senior British media person, once said: "The British property law is the reference for many domestic legal provisions. The source of income of many Russian businessmen is unknown. In order to protect these properties, they transferred their property to the UK, hoping to legalize the wealth they had acquired before. " Britain's policy of providing asylum to dissidents is also more relaxed. In the past 10 years, Britain has granted a large number of Putin's critics political asylum. Of course, not only Russians, but also former Thai Prime Ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck also chose to take refuge in Britain.

So why are Russians popular in London? The first is because of "money". In order to meet the needs of Russian oligarchs, a number of housekeepers, architects, accountants, lawyers, interior decoration designers, private tutors and domestic workers have emerged in London. But the main "service provider" is the British government.

According to the American International Business Times on June 16, it is the primary consideration of British ministers to ensure that the money of the rich Russians continues to flow into London. As many as 30% of British corporate lawyers make money by helping Russian oligarchs with their financial and expensive divorce cases. Whether these rich people have innocent backgrounds or not, they buy luxury houses in London, send their children to private schools, and support luxury shops and high-end restaurants. Not long ago, the British media broke the news that since 20 10, the British ruling Conservative Party has accepted a donation of 3 million pounds from Russian oligarchs.

Bo Risovic, an anti-money laundering expert in London, wrote on June 5438+08 that in a sense, these oligarchs are "model citizens" in London. They donate money to social charities, sponsor the arts and provide funds for educational institutions. In 20 16, Usmanov was one of the most generous 10 philanthropists on the Sunday Times donation list. Abramovich is the biggest donor to Dream of Dreams charity.

Accepting people with complex political backgrounds is also of great value to British political diplomacy. Britain has always regarded Russian exiles as a card to contain Russia. The British government, parliament and media often criticize Russia's poor human rights record in Chechnya, arguing that Russia lacks an environment of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. As for the former Russian intelligence personnel, they are familiar with the political and ecological environment in Russia and the internal and external operation mechanism of the Russian federal investigation department, which has a very strong infiltration and destruction effect on Russia.

A poisoning case "poked" the relationship between Britain and Russia.

"In the past 20 years, the rich Russian oligarchs have become an' inherent landscape' in Britain." An article in the Guardian on June 5438+08 described: "They flew everywhere by private jet. They are accompanied by fashion models. They were surrounded by private bodyguards. Their rudeness and accent reveal their origins-they come from a cold place. "

In the British media, the image of Russians is not good, and Britain's absorption of them has always caused controversy. Some even criticized Britain as a "pimp" of Russian outflow funds. Some people think that the Russian rich are not as valuable as some commentators say, and they are not vital to the British economy.

At the beginning of this year, Britain's "Unknown Property Act" against foreign corrupt personnel came into effect, and some Russian oligarchs wanted to return to China. According to Reuters, the head of a Moscow consulting company said that there is no guarantee that these oligarchs will be welcome to bring their money back to Russia. "They will be targeted by the British government and will never get sympathy from Russia because they took the money and spent it abroad." .

The situation of these oligarchs reflects the changes in the relationship between Britain and Russia, and the cases that triggered the "new cold war" between Britain and Russia over the past decade show the complexity of the relationship between the two countries. Many observers believe that the relationship between London and Moscow has been in the shadow of the litvinenko poisoning case in 2006. At the end of last year, the British Foreign Secretary said that he would normalize relations with Russia, but now a case has punctured the appearance of peaceful coexistence between the two countries.

No European power has such a bad relationship with Russia as Britain. "Berlin Daily" said that for Germany, Russia does not meet Western standards in terms of democracy and human rights. But Russia is a partner of Europe, and Berlin hopes to strengthen political and economic cooperation with it. France has a similar idea. "Compared with the conservatism in Berlin and Paris, London is obviously much tougher."

Russia's "Today's Economy" 17 said that for a long time, the relationship between Britain and Russia was not good, as it was in the Soviet era. In recent years, Britain has been rushing ahead in the actions of western countries to contain Russia. The article said that Britain followed the United States in all major political and military events, and this time it was also instigated by the United States.

Wang Haiyun, a permanent member of the high-end think tank of Sino-Russian strategic cooperation, said in an interview with ID: Qiu Huan -com that Britain has always been a loyal "little brother" of the United States during and after the Cold War, and it is uncertain whether there is American participation behind this incident. However, Britain has not produced enough evidence to convince the public, but it is obviously abnormal to be so suspicious.

"The relationship between Russia and the West is like a vicious circle, especially the relationship between Russia and Britain." Germany's "Western Daily" said that with Britain's "Brexit", Britain will be closer to the United States, and the relationship between Britain and Russia will be more complicated in the future.