Russians In Britain - A Handbook

Who are the Russians who live in the UK? The community is under the spotlight as never before since the attempt on the life of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March. Caught between fascination and horror, the press heaves with cliches about Russian oligarchs, spies and dissidents living - and spending - in the fancier parts of London. The programme looks at how the present wave of Russians took root in London in the 1990s, encouraged by successive British governments. Lucy Ash goes beyond the bling to find a complex community of many interlocking circles - artists and writers as well as tycoons and shoppers; parents as well as Godfathers. She explores how these communities have evolved over a generation and they have changed and continue to change the city they call home.

Producer: Monica Whitlock.

Oligarchs, dissidents and beyond, Lucy Ash meets the Russians of the UK.

Who are the Russians who live in the UK? The community is under the spotlight as never before since the attempt on the life of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March. Caught between fascination and horror, the press heaves with cliches about Russian oligarchs, spies and dissidents living - and spending - in the fancier parts of London. The programme looks at how the present wave of Russians took root in London in the 1990s, encouraged by successive British governments. Lucy Ash goes beyond the bling to find a complex community of many interlocking circles - artists and writers as well as tycoons and shoppers; parents as well as Godfathers. She explores how these communities have evolved over a generation and they have changed and continue to change the city they call home.

Producer: Monica Whitlock.

Oligarchs, dissidents and beyond, Lucy Ash meets the Russians of the UK.