While international views of Britain’s referendum on EU membership are eagerly solicited and picked over, and Germans, Chinese and Americans may be quizzed by either side for reassurance or nuance, Russia’s support for Brexit is assumed. Vladimir Putin was an early, if unwitting, recruit as bogeyman in the service of those campaigning for the UK to remain in the bloc.
David Cameron, prime minister, bracketed the Russian president with the leader of Isis as people who would be “happy” at a victory for Leave. Michael Fallon, UK defence secretary, told MPs that Brexit would be “payday for Putin”; former foreign secretary Jack Straw branded Boris Johnson, former London mayor and leading advocate of the Leave camp, a “Putin apologist” for criticising EU policy towards Ukraine. Vote out, the Remain argument goes, and you will be advancing Russia’s nefarious purpose.
The logic runs like this: Mr Putin’s ultimate objective is the destabilisation, even the collapse, of the EU. A vote by a big member state to leave would be a significant step in that direction. Therefore Brexit is in Moscow’s interest. Underlying this thesis are two ingrained western beliefs: that Russia’s intentions towards the west are only malign; and that it sees the EU as vulnerable.