The activities of the British Council in Russia are aimed at violating territorial integrity and changing power in the country. This was stated by Deputy Head of the Department for Supervision of the implementation of laws on federal security, countering extremism and terrorism of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation Alexei Zhafyarov, commenting on the decision to recognize the activities of the British organization undesirable in the territory of the Russian Federation.
"All the royal nobility will no longer be able to lobby their interests in Russian society. The Prosecutor General's Office has declared undesirable the organization of The British Council, funded by lords, peers and other esquires," the supervisory authority's telegram channel says.
As Zhafyarov stressed, "the council's activities are aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, destabilizing the socio-political situation and changing power in the country, which poses a threat to the security of the Russian Federation." He pointed out that The British Council positions itself as an independent structure from the government, while its activities are controlled by the British Parliament and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth Affairs and Development of Great Britain.
"Under the guise of educational and cultural activities, the organization of various educational events, under the pretext of teaching English, in fact, the council members promote long-term British interests and values in the field of education, culture and youth policy. At the same time, the LGBT movement banned in our country is actively promoted and supported*. Various projects are being implemented to systematically discredit the domestic and foreign policy of the Russian Federation," the Prosecutor General's Office informs.
The British Council also aims to "rid the population of the former Soviet republics of the Russian identity." As part of the cooperation with other undesirable organizations, a program of so-called "cultural interaction to rally the anti-Russian Baltic community" is being carried out. Considering the key task of working with the younger generation, the organization attracts graduates of the Chevening government scholarship program, of which it is also the organizer. The participants see the creation of a "global network of agents of British influence" as their main mission, the report says.
*Extremist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation