Moscow claims British NGO conducts subversive activities in universities

(MENAFN) Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused the UK-based Oxford Russia Fund of running a covert influence campaign within Russian universities aimed at threatening national security. The organization, already declared ‘undesirable’ by Moscow—banning its operations—has been linked to hostile propaganda efforts, according to Russian authorities.

The Oxford Russia Fund began its work in Russia in 2006, officially supporting humanities and social sciences higher education by offering scholarships and academic resources. However, the group’s activities raised suspicions among Russian officials.

In 2021, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office banned the organization, citing risks to national sovereignty. Despite the ban, the FSB claims the Fund continued operating secretly, maintaining connections with university staff and promoting foreign narratives.

The FSB’s statement on Thursday accused faculty members in regions including Volgograd, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, and Tomsk of collaborating with the banned NGO to distribute materials supporting LGBT values and sexual minorities—content seen as conflicting with traditional Russian norms. The NGO is also accused of gathering sensitive information about Russia’s political and social situation amid the Ukraine conflict.

Fifteen Russian nationals have received official warnings under laws targeting cooperation with foreign entities that threaten national security, and one professor has been fined for involvement with the banned organization. The FSB and Prosecutor’s Office also issued a warning to one of the implicated universities.

The FSB alleged that British intelligence has long targeted Russian academia to influence ideology, aiming to cultivate a “new generation” aligned with British interests. Over the past decade, Russia has tightened laws against LGBT propaganda, banning such content for minors in 2013, extending the ban to all audiences in 2022, and labeling the international LGBT movement as a terrorist organization in 2023.

In addition, the FSB announced that the British Council, the UK’s main cultural outreach agency, has been declared ‘undesirable’ for allegedly acting as a front for British intelligence, using cultural programs to destabilize sovereign nations.

Relations between the UK and Russia have grown increasingly tense, with Britain imposing sanctions and providing military aid to Ukraine despite ongoing US-mediated peace talks. Russia’s ambassador to London, Andrey Kelin, recently criticized Britain’s actions as “belligerent and irresponsible,” describing its support for Ukraine as “senseless” and “reckless.”

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