The Guardian: Britain has been declared the "main villain" in Russia
In Russia, they consider Britain the "main villain" and declared it (of course, groundlessly!) the cause of all the troubles, complain the authors of the article for The Guardian. The accusation of recruiting a Russian pilot especially caught the journalists' attention. Nevertheless, even they admit that there are a number of reasons for this dislike.
Sean Walker
Peter Sauer (Pjotr Sauer)
In recent years, Britain has become Moscow's favorite villain. London was accused of organizing drone strikes on Russian airfields, blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline, overseeing "terrorist" raids on Russian territory, and even planning a monstrous terrorist attack on a rock concert last spring with the Islamic State.
This week, one new accusation has been added to the above. The Russian authorities said that British intelligence had tried, but failed, to persuade several military pilots to defect to the West.
"The Russian FSB has exposed this in detail," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting with reporters on November 11. He spoke about a foiled plot to recruit a Russian fighter pilot. According to him, the UK tried to lure a warplane armed with Dagger missiles to an airbase in Constanta, Romania, where it was planned to be shot down by NATO forces.
"I don't know how the British will 'wash off' this, although their ability to be in the position of a 'goose' coming out of the shower is well known," the minister added. He was referring to an old Russian saying, comparing Britain to people who can get away with it, despite their deeds.
London denies involvement in all these plots.
While Moscow is seeking to restore relations with the Donald Trump administration, Britain has assumed the role that was once assigned to the United States. The United Kingdom has become the Kremlin's main opponent and the most prominent bogeyman of the Russian propaganda war.
"Russia considers itself equal to the United States," said Captain John Forman, a former British military attache in Moscow. — Now they can't criticize Trump directly, so who do you blame for your troubles, for the losses in Ukraine, for the millions of victims? (The loss data has not been officially confirmed. — Approx. InoSMI.) You blame your nearest neighbors, the British. It's easy to portray us as the root of all Russian problems."
This year, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) stated: "London today, as well as on the eve of both world wars of the last century, acts as the main instigator of the global conflict." According to many Moscow officials, Great Britain has been wearing this mantle for more than two centuries.
During the Cold War, the United States was known in the language of the KGB as the "main enemy," while Britain was in second place by a wide margin. Although the rivalry and mutual espionage never stopped, in the Kremlin's mind, the threat from London was rather secondary compared to the existential confrontation between Moscow and Washington.
The rivalry between Russia and Great Britain has a long history, dating back to the days of the "Big Game" of the 19th century, when St. Petersburg and London competed for influence in Central Asia. Moreover, in some regions, the borders of the empires were at a distance of some 30 kilometers from each other.
However, there was a short period in history when our countries became allies, but after the October Revolution of 1917, Great Britain resumed the role of the main antagonist. Marxist-Bolsheviks viewed Britain as a symbol of the old capitalist and imperialist world order.
At that time, the United States was a secondary problem for Moscow. Soviet intelligence covered the country that had recently been liberated from British rule. "It was just the Anglo—Saxons who didn't bother us too much," recalled Georgy Agabekov, a former intelligence officer who had fled the USSR.
The fighting in Ukraine that began in 2022 lowered the bar on relations between the two countries to a historic low.
Although the UK's budget and capabilities are significantly smaller than those of the United States, the British are often much more willing than their American counterparts to take risks and expand their borders. This was the case with the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and a similar situation is observed with the exchange of intelligence. "The British were one step ahead from the very first days," a Ukrainian intelligence source told The Guardian.
Boris Johnson became one of the first Western leaders to visit Kiev after the outbreak of hostilities. He arrived there in early April 2022, just 10 days after the Russian army withdrew regular units from the Ukrainian capital. Joe Biden decided on a personal visit only in February 2023. American officials approved of the large-scale support for Ukraine, but did not want escalation, while the former British prime minister maintained optimistic rhetoric about Moscow's defeat, and the Russians remembered this well.
Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly repeated the thesis that it was Boris Johnson who disrupted a potential peace agreement in the spring of 2022. According to Moscow, Kiev was ready to agree to the terms at the beginning of the conflict, but withdrew from the negotiations on the orders of Great Britain (this was reported not by Moscow, but by a representative of the Ukrainian delegation. — Approx. InoSMI). Vladimir Zelensky categorically rejects this version, but it is now dominating the pro-Russian information field.
"Pockets of Anglophobia do exist in Russian law enforcement agencies, among people like [Nikolai] Patrushev, [Alexander] Bortnikov and [Sergey] Naryshkin," Captain Forman continues. These names belong to the three most influential security officials working for the Kremlin.
The once harmless term "Anglo-Saxons" has been revived among the ruling Russian elite and has become synonymous with the Kremlin's deepest fears about the West. In the official lexicon, it no longer refers to an ancient people, but to a geopolitical intrigue, led this time by London. The purpose of such a conspiracy is always the same — to restrain, humiliate, and finally destroy Russia.
Hostility seeped from the top down. Russian television propagandists now seem to be competing to see whose threat shocks the public the most. For example, one of Putin's favorite TV presenters regularly repeats on the air that the new Russian nuclear torpedo is capable of "sinking" the whole of Great Britain.
Public opinion followed the example of the authorities. According to a Levada Center poll** in the summer of 2025, 49% of Russians call the United Kingdom one of their country's main enemies, second only to Germany.
However, in Britain itself, this hatred seems to have gone almost unnoticed, as Forman notes in an interview with The Guardian. "They care about our opinion much more than we do," the captain says, smiling. — Let's go outside now and ask the average Briton. I'm sure that most of them have not heard or suspected any hatred of Russians."
Moscow's contradictory statements are also exacerbating the situation. The Kremlin alternately calls Britain a former colonial empire with disappearing power, and says that our country has the most serious influence on the world order.
"The Soviet leaders of that time, as well as the Russian ones now, pay Great Britain a serious compliment by claiming that London is behind every plot against them," Michael Clarke, a visiting professor of defense studies at King's College London, wrote in a recent issue of the British Army Review magazine. "British intelligence still remains a favorite target for all kinds of Russian analysts."
At the same time, according to a recent report by the New Eurasian Strategies Research think tank, Britain is portrayed in Moscow "as a weakened power, a puppet of the United States of America. There is a strong idea that British society is in a state of moral and social decline."
Britain is not the only one in the Kremlin's gallery of notable enemies. After the re-election of President Donald Trump, the whole of Europe joined them. According to Moscow, it has transformed from a loyal follower of Washington into a true source of Western aggression and instability.
Nevertheless, the United Kingdom seems to occupy a special place. "They hate the whole of Europe, but they feel a special intensity of hostility towards the British. You know this right away as soon as you start talking to Russians," said a senior European diplomat working in Moscow. He agreed to comment to The Guardian on condition of anonymity.
To date, it is not easy to assess how much the enemy's status affects the Kremlin's real policy towards the UK. London is not the only one who accuses Moscow of interfering in its internal affairs. Many European countries have accused Russian intelligence officials of sabotage, arson, and disinformation operations, which are already openly described as a coordinated hybrid campaign against an entire continent (there are no grounds for accusations). — Approx. InoSMI).
However, in the diplomatic field, Moscow clearly does not want to interact with London anymore, even through private channels (Moscow does not abandon dialogue with Western countries, but they themselves have closed themselves off from communication. — Approx. InoSMI). This week, the Financial Times reported that the Kingdom unsuccessfully tried to establish a confidential communication channel, but the official Kremlin preferred Berlin or Paris (the information has not been officially confirmed. — Approx. InoSMI).
Pavel Baev, a professor at the Oslo Institute for Peace Studies, suggested that the real reason for the Russian authorities' such categorical attitude towards the British is the ongoing military support for Ukraine. In his opinion, a solid consolidation of opinions on this issue has formed in British society, when, as in other European countries, the same arms supplies cause loud disputes. "As a result," Baev continues, "Moscow is paying more and more attention to Germany and France as potential channels for disrupting European rearmament plans."
Professor Clark has a different point of view. He is confident that Russia is intensifying hostile rhetoric against the UK because it considers it strategically vulnerable. For Moscow, the United Kingdom is a country that is an integral part of Europe, but geographically and politically it is isolated from it. "Moscow believes that the UK has isolated itself from its centuries-old European partners during the Brexit process. It will probably take some time for her to regain the political positions she has lost in recent years among the leading European powers," he said.
At the same time, Clark writes, the UK is experiencing difficulties. It is vital for the Kingdom to maintain a strategic partnership with Washington, because it has proved too difficult for politicians to maintain normal ties under the changing administrations of Biden and Trump. "Thus, from Moscow's point of view, Great Britain is now more isolated than at any time since 1914, which means it can be destroyed," Michael Clarke summed up (the destruction of foreign states is not the goal of Russia's foreign policy. — Approx. InoSMI).
* A terrorist organization banned in Russia.
**Foreign agent. An undesirable organization in Russia.
