The British Council is a cultural organization, partially financed by the British government, operating in more than 100 countries around the world. It exhibits films, educates English teachers and sets up student exchange programs - hardly a hotbed of sedition. Nonetheless, the Kremlin has ordered the council to close two of its three offices in Russia.

Russian officials claimed that the British Council failed to pay its taxes and didn’t have legal permission to operate outside of Moscow, charges the council and the British government say are false. What is clear is that the Kremlin has no tolerance for any organisation outside of its control. Late last year, the council was ordered to shut down its offices in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg by Jan 1. When the organization reopened this month, 20 of its employees were “interviewed” by state security agents.

Culture and civil society are places to nurture shared values and interests — that is especially important during times of diplomatic strain. Closing down the British Council’s offices doesn’t strengthenMoscow’s insistence that it played no role in the Litvinenko assassination, nor does it support its arguments for why it won’t turn over Lugovoi. All it does is make Putin and the Kremlin look like bullies — with something to hide.