UK: Queen joins 'cultural boycott' of Russia

 

The queen has joined the cultural boycott of Russia according to a report in the guardian the queen's official art collection has refused permission to display three antique swords in Moscow the royal collection was due to loan three 17th century weapons to an exhibition at
Kremlin museums sponsored by the Russian oligarch ales-ha Usmanov he was one of the first Russians to face British sanctions over links with Vladimir Putin Usmanov has stepped down as president of the international fencing federation saying he will suspend duties until justice is restored last month the royal collection postponed permission for the swords to be sent to Russia after the invasion of Ukraine the exhibition in Moscow has been delayed indefinitely because other European countries have refused to cooperate as well the royal armories museums has confirmed it had agreed to loan six items to Moscow including a dueling 17^th century gauntlet a cavalry helmet and a breastplate from the civil war one of the swords is believed to have belonged to king Charles the first and in an attempt to put further pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin the British government has now launched an investigation to identify and freeze any assets owned by Putin in Britain , the investigation is being conducted by the national crime agency's kleptocracy unit the team will attempt to identify assets owned by Putin in the UK including through known associates and Kremlin allied Russian oligarchs Putin has been accused of building vast wealth through kickbacks on deals approved by the Kremlin which have involved Russian tycoons friendly to the government according to some experts Putin may be one of the wealthiest men in the world the  assets totaling up to nearly 200 billion dollars Boris Johnson announced last month that his government will set up a kleptocracy cell to target and freeze corrupt Russian assets hidden in the UK.