By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
These days, few British diplomats come to Moscow expecting to see out the full duration of their posting.
Being “PNG-ed” (diplo-speak for getting kicked out and declared Persona Non Grata) has almost become routine.
The expulsions began after a mass eviction of Russian diplomats from London in 2018, following the Novichok poisonings in Salisbury, and they’ve been happening on both sides ever since.
But after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the expulsions in Moscow have become more frequent and taken on greater significance.
The Kremlin uses them to reinforce its narrative that Britain is the principal enemy, out to attack Russia.
That’s why there was a crowd of television crews from Russian state media waiting for the British deputy head of mission, Danae Dholakia, outside the foreign ministry after she’d been summoned.
There was even a ‘protest’ (clearly staged), with dozens of people holding up placards with messages like “Britain is a terrorist country” and “London sows death”, in reference to the UK’s support of Ukraine.
It was classic Kremlin choreography – designed to create a spectacle – and the footage is now dominating the news bulletins and websites here.
It’s how Moscow shapes public opinion, and tries to ensure that Russians continue to see the war against their neighbour as a worthy one.
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