One of the great advantages that we British have always enjoyed has been the almost universal acceptance of the English language.
Now we have the news that the Russian government has decided it will operate bilingually, in Russian and English. This opens up political, economic, and social opportunities for us far beyond any benefits we may get from our membership of the EU. As Russia emerges as one of the three power poles in Europe (the other two being the EU and Turkey) the official adoption of English as a working laguage of the political elites presents us with an opportunity of a lifetime. Let us hope HMG doesn't let this one slip away - or hand it over to the EU!
