Why do Liberals hate Russia so much?
St Basil’s, Red Square, Moscow (Shutterstock)
Why has Number 10 not published the House of Commons’ Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) report into “Russian interference” in the British political system?
Hillary Clinton says the decision is “inexplicable and shameful”. Remember, she was keen to blame Russia for her US election defeat to Donald Trump, even though no evidence was uncovered that could sustain that claim.
Dominic Grieve, who chaired the ISC, and who is standing as an independent in the forthcoming general election, pressed for publication before the dissolution of parliament. The campaign has been joined by various unnamed “intelligence sources” and professional scaremongers, who rumble ominously about Tory donors with links to Kremlin.
A leaked account of the document, published by the Times, suggested that any effect on the EU referendum was “unquantifiable”. It emphasised the fact that state-owned Russian news outlets like “RT” and “Sputnik” published a great volume of staunchly pro-Brexit articles in the run-up to the vote. Hardly damning stuff. So why would the government be reluctant for it to be published?
The atmosphere around this issue and its coverage in the media provides a clue. In the modern climate, any connection to Russia or Russians is a potential point of interest, irrespective of how innocent or tenuous it might be. Russophobia is one of the few forms of xenophobia that seems to remain socially acceptable.
There are now many well-connected Russian people in British society, particularly in London, and their friends, acquaintances and colleagues involved in politics are vulnerable to smears. Having lived in Russia or conducted business with Russians is commonly taken as a sign that you could be particularly dodgy.
Dominic Cummings is not a popular man among Boris Johnson’s opponents and there may be compelling reasons to treat him with suspicion. However, the fact that he spent time during the 1990s working for an airline in Russia is not one of them. Arron Banks is brash and controversial, but his marriage to a Russian is irrelevant when assessing his involvement in politics. That hasn’t stopped a lot of dark talk about both men and the influence of the Kremlin.
Double-standards when it comes to Russia are particularly common among self-styled liberals. They allege that Brexit voters or Donald Trump supporters display xenophobic or racist attitudes. Ironically, at the same time, they often feel free to make sweeping generalisations about Russians. If they’re not depicted in the media as our dastardly, sophisticated enemies, they’re hapless, vodka-soaked oafs — stupid and violent.
In response to claims that “fake news” from Russia affected the US election result, the New Yorker published a very fine article examining “the propaganda about Russian propaganda”. It found that the definition of fake news used in studies by groups focusing on Russia was broad enough to include “not only Russian state-controlled media organisations, such as Russia Today, but nearly every news outlet in the world.”
Many of the more lurid stories that we read about Russia in the British press could fall into this category. It’s now unremarkable to see the Times describe Russian language programmes at UK universities as “a secret propaganda assault” by the Kremlin or football hooliganism as “hybrid warfare” on the Russian state’s behalf.
Last year, a story in the Sunday Times alleged that the Conservative Party had received donations from “dubious Russians”. It was hard to ignore the insinuation that any Russian who is in a position to donate money could be dubious.
Relationships between Russia and Britain remain terrible, while there has been a slight improvement in Moscow’s dealings with much of the rest of Europe. It is no wonder that the government was reluctant to have any links with Russians highlighted, even if no wrongdoing was alleged or proven.
Yet, it’s vitally important that figures within our political class still deal with Russians and socialise with them too. It’s not positive or normal that we demonise each other so routinely.
There has been a startling failure of diplomacy between our two countries and we must hope that politicians can repair that damage in the future. Convivial personal relationships — a commodity that oils much political fundraising — are a useful first step.
