By RIA Novosti
St. Petersburg : The British Council’s office in St. Petersburg has suspended work after Russian officials interviewed its staff and allegedly detained the head of the office.
Russia ordered that the Council’s regional offices be closed over alleged tax violations from the start of this year, but the offices in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg in the Urals region resumed work after the New Year holidays in defiance of the ban, a move that Moscow called a provocation.
The British government has denied that its cultural arm has violated any Russian law.
A spokeswoman for the Moscow British Council office said Wednesday that Russian employees of the St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg offices had been summoned for “interviews” with Russian security officials.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Foreign Office has opened a probe into the questioning, condemning any attempts to threaten the council staff.
The Russian Federal Security Service said Tuesday that the interviews were designed to “save Russian staff from any possible provocations.”
Russian media Wednesday said Russian police Tuesday detained Stephen Kinnock, director of the St. Petersburg office, citing drunk driving and other traffic violations. Kinnock is the son of former British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock, who chairs the British Council.
The British Consulate in St. Petersburg has also confirmed the detention.
The British Council, a non-profit organization which promotes education and cultural programmes, first established an office in Moscow in the 1990s and went on to open a further 14 offices across the country.
It has been involved in three years of legal wrangling with Russian authorities over the alleged non-payment of tax and issues relating to its legal status.
The council dispute continues at the times when the ties between London and Moscow aggravated following the murder of Kremlin critic and security service defector Alexander Litvinenko in London in November 2006.
In July 2007, London expelled Russian diplomats, imposed visa restrictions and suspended anti-terrorism cooperation with Russia after it refused to extradite the main suspect in the case. Moscow followed suit.