Russia’s Sherlock link is elementary

Many would be surprised that the Russian ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya compared the British government to Inspector Lestrade, the blundering counterfoil to the cerebral Victorian crime solver Sherlock Holmes, over the latest Russian ex-spy poisoning imbroglio. As the tit-for-tat measures being taken — or threatened — by Britain and Russia have rekindled memories of the Cold War, a James Bond or even George Smiley allusion may have been deemed more appropriate, spy for spy.

But neither Bond nor Smiley has the massive fan following in Russia as Holmes does, and maybe ambassador Nebenzya is one of the many who have avidly watched the adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective in Russian TV productions since the 1970s. However, unlike the most recent avatar of Inspector Lestrade — in the latest series, Sherlock — Russian portrayals of the policeman inspire the adjective ‘hapless’, which explains its use by the Russian envoy in his UN Security Council speech.

Meanwhile, his inference draws attention to another festering issue in Britain: Russia’s hand in the alleged leakage of the final episode of the third series of Sherlock a year ago. So, his insinuation that only Holmes can get to the bottom of The Case of the Poisoned Double Agent could prove to be a double-edged sword for Russia.