Nigel Casey, UK ambassador to Russia: No communication is extremely dangerous

Steve Rosenberg, the BBC’s Russia editor, speaks to Nigel Casey, the UK’s ambassador to Russia, about the challenges of working in Moscow on behalf of a government that views President Putin’s Russia as a threat to Britain. He believes this job is one of the most challenging - and important - of his career. In a wide ranging conversation, the ambassador describes his life in Moscow over the last two years, a period of heightened tensions between the UK and Russia after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The number of diplomats in the city has been drastically reduced and, for a British ambassador in Moscow, there are daily challenges to deal with. You’re going to hear his experience of being followed wherever he goes in Russia and how, on occasions, his staff face harassment. He sees a key part of his job - defusing potentially dangerous diplomatic misunderstanding with the Russian government.

He also reveals the gap between the anti-British rhetoric heard in the country’s state media and the genuine curiosity of ordinary Russians towards the UK. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Steve Rosenberg Producers: Ben Tavener, Clare Williamson and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang

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(Image: Nigel Casey. Credit: UK Gov)