The Russian gov had ordered the BritishCouncil to close down

As it was reported by the BBC, the Russian government had ordered the British Council to close down its offices in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg by the beginning of January. But it found out then that British Council's leadership, supported by the UK Foreign Office, refused to fulfill requirements of Russian authorities, who announced 3 months (!) ago that these offices should be closed, because they constantly violated Russian tax regulations. Now they have continued their work in Russia, saying that in reality the Council's activities in Russia are compliant with Russian and international law. But it is enough to remember yesteryear of UK- Russian relations in order to understand that our British friends play cunning in this case.
British officials tried to explain Russian restrictions as a retaliatory measure in the ongoing dispute over the London murder of Russian exile A. Litvinenko. But it is an overt attempt of British government to use present situation for own political purposes. See for yourself! At first Britain expelled 4 Russian diplomats over Russian refusal to extradite a suspect in Litvinenko's death and then they rejected the Russian allegations towards the British Council, which is a registered charity funded by the British government and worked on the territory of Russian state. But it is clear for everyone that any decision of local authorities, concerning discontinuation of activities of foreign organizations, should be mandatory and must be fulfilled in any case. Moreover, it should be remembered that in legal contemplation Russian government is entitled to stop activity of any foreign organizations on own territory without explanation to its actions at all.
Nevertheless there is no surprise for me in this case. The same example also was in the history of our relations with the UK, too. 4 years ago a certain PR agency from GB (I don't remember the name of it) tried to turn its activity into political issue either. The reaction of our American powers was immediate: all agents of this organization have become personas non grata there and then. So in this case Russians are more charitable: they have closed only 2 offices of the British Council, leaving the headquarters in Moscow.