Russia labels British Council ‘undesirable organisation’ despite 7-year absence from country

Russia has designated the British Council, the United Kingdom’s principal cultural and educational body, an “undesirable organisation”, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Thursday.

The country’s top law enforcement oversight body claimed that the British Council, which co-administers the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam, had been creating a “global network of British influence agents” and had been working to “systematically discredit” Kremlin policy “under the guise of educational and cultural activities”.

Notably, the Prosecutor General’s Office accused the British Council of “actively promoting and supporting” the LGBT movement, which is banned in Russia and has increasingly been targeted by law enforcement bodies.

“While portraying itself as an independent entity, all the council’s work occurs in accordance with the priorities of the British government, the organisation is accountable to Parliament, and it is financed by the Foreign Office”, the Prosecutor General’s Office claimed.

Russian state media also reported on Thursday that the FSB had accused British intelligence of attempting to use the educational organisation to undermine Russia, warned Russian citizens against any interaction with the British Council, and called on Russia’s allies to ban the organisation’s activities.

Following an FSB investigation, 15 Russian citizens, including four teachers at leading regional universities, were given official warnings for cooperating with the organisation, according to Reuters.

The British Council, which describes itself as “the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities”, ceased operations in Russia in 2018 after being instructed to do so by the Russian Foreign Ministry, and has not yet issued a statement reacting to its new legal designation.

The British Council administers IELTS tests and finances international educational and cultural programmes in over 200 countries and territories around the world. Since March 2022, in protest against the invasion of Ukraine, IELTS tests have not been administered in Russia.