Moscow moves against British diplomat
Russia’s Federal Security Service, better known as the FSB and the Soviet KGB’s less nostalgic successor, has ordered a British diplomat to leave the country within two weeks over allegations of economic espionage. The United Kingdom dismissed the accusation as “unacceptable” amid already tense relations over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
On Monday, the FSB said its counterintelligence officers had expelled Albertus Gerhardus Janse van Rensburg, the second secretary at the British Embassy in Moscow.
“The FSB uncovered signs that the diplomat was carrying out intelligence and subversive activities that threaten the security of the Russian Federation,” the agency said.
It added that he had tried to “obtain sensitive information during informal meetings with Russian experts in the field of economics”.
The FSB also offered what amounted to a public warning to anyone in Russia thinking of accepting a diplomatic coffee invitation.
“In order to avoid negative consequences, including criminal liability, the FSB of Russia recommends that compatriots refrain from holding meetings with British diplomats,” it said.
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had delivered a protest to Britain’s charge d’affaires over the alleged spy.
The British Foreign Office responded that Russia’s accusations against its diplomats were “completely unacceptable” and said it would not tolerate “intimidation” of embassy staff or their families.
A familiar pattern of hostility
The latest dispute fits a long-running and increasingly predictable script between Moscow and London.
Russia has repeatedly claimed that British intelligence has stepped up espionage activity to levels not seen since the Cold War, accusing it of trying to stir unrest inside the country. Moscow has also long complained that its diplomats face harassment in major Western capitals.
The UK, meanwhile, is one of Ukraine’s key backers, providing money and weapons. London says Russia is its most immediate security threat and accuses Russian intelligence of carrying out cyberattacks, killings and sabotage operations across the West.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russian authorities have tightened pressure on domestic dissent while trying to build support for the war at home. That has meant more state messaging, fewer public objections and, as always, a strong preference for blaming outside enemies.
Another recent label from Moscow
Last week, Russia also declared Pavel Talankin, the teacher and main figure in the Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin, a “foreign agent”. Talankin spent two years documenting pro-war propaganda at a school in the Chelyabinsk region in west-central Russia while working there as the school’s videographer.
