Well, it’s official. The UK-Russia spat over the British Council has become the story of the week, which at least in my perspective is a disappointing distraction from other issues. I have spent a bit of time reading over the coverage of the latest tit-for-tat in this affair, and while there is very little substantive new information to share, I am left with some general impressions. In my view, behind the British Council dispute we can see a familiar methodology, a familiar thrust of revisionist history, and a clear political expediency toward perpetual conflict with a foreign power. In other words, it should not be at all surprising that things have developed in this direction.