According to Russia, the UK stole Fish and Chips from them. Photo / Getty Images.
According to Russia, the UK stole Fish and Chips from them. Photo / Getty Images.
A Russian MP has labelled Great Britain "more evil" than the United States in an impassioned tirade on state TV, where the UK was also accused of stealing the "Russian" invention of fish and chips.
Andrei Isayev, a pro-Kremlin politician, said that of "that couple that we constantly mention," the UK has "of course historically" been "more hardcore anti-Russian" than the US.
He said: "They're basically Siamese twins, or two heads of a dragon, but Britain has historically been the more evil head of the dragon because in that couple it has responsibility for Europe."
This hilarious tirade by MP Andrei Isayev on state TV is a crash course in all the bizarre Russian stereotypes about Britain
The comments come as Volodomyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has heaped praise on Britain for its unequivocal support for his country which has been under siege by Russian forces since February.
"Britain is definitely on our side. It is not performing a balancing act," the Ukrainian leader told the Economist magazine, while criticising the more limited help afforded by France and Germany.
Isayev attributed the UK's hawkish stance towards Russia's invasion of Ukraine to the "philosophy which the British aristocracy is taught in its colleges" that "they're an island state".
He added: "That's why their objective is to prevent the formation of strong states on the continent in order to maintain control over the continent. And now they're simply bringing those college dreams of theirs to life."
The politician, who was dismissed as the deputy secretary to the parliamentary leader of United Russia for his involvement in a drunken brawl on a plane, urged listeners to "draw lessons from this".
"Britain has never been a real ally to us," he said.
"Even in those moments when it acted as our ally during the world wars, the Englishwoman [sic] managed to create trouble. But now she's simply thrown off all her disguises."
He continued: "Clear off back to your island! Eat your porridge! Catch your chip and fish [sic] from your foggy marshes!"
In a bizarre turn, Yevgeny Popov, the state TV host, then chimed in to claim the British culinary dish was in fact a Russian innovation.
"It turns out that white fish, fish and chips is Russian," he pronounced.
Isayev concurred, finishing with the peculiar peroration: "And pray for your moss covered queen!"
