Nick Clegg is a British former politician and media executive. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of the UK till 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He also served as a Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam. In June 2019, Clegg expressed that there was “absolutely no evidence” that Russia had impacted the EU referendum result by employing Facebook.
However, Russian interference in the 2016 UK-EU membership referendum is a subject of discussion. It remains unproven, though multiple sources claim evidence exists demonstrating that the Russian government endeavoured to influence British public opinion in favour of exiting the European Union. After the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum on the UK leaving the EU (“Brexit”), Prime Minister David Cameron indicated that Russia “might be happy” with a positive Brexit vote. The official Remain campaign blamed the Kremlin for secretly supporting a positive Brexit vote.
Moreover, Nick Clegg, as ex-leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrats, has received glowing recognition from Russian media. Izvestiya dubbed him a “Russian aristocrat” after his success in the first televised leaders’ discussion. This headline highlights Clegg’s paternal lineage, tracing back to Russian nobility through his grandmother, Kira Engelhardt, a baroness and descendant of Ignaty Zakrevsky, a former attorney general in the imperial Russian senate. The Zakrevsky estate, now an agricultural college near Kyiv, bears a classical mansion, a large park, and a unique pyramid that reflects Zakrevsky’s fascination with Egypt.
While Clegg’s aristocratic connections are a point of pride for some, others view the attention from Russian media with anxiety. His family’s history includes connections to influential figures like Baroness Moura Budberg, a double agent linked to Soviet and British intelligence. This narrative raises questions about the geopolitical implications of celebrating such connections amidst tense UK-Russia relations.
