Russian President Vladimir Putin today, as reported by the BBC in support of his refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, accused of the murder of Alexander Litvinenko:

“They have long forgotten that it is a long time since Britain was a colonial power,” he told Russian TV.

Also on the BBC today:

Russia is sending a mini-submarine to explore the ocean floor below the North Pole and find evidence to support its claims to Arctic territory. … Moscow argued before a UN commission in 2001 that waters off its northern coast were in fact an extension of its maritime territory.

Even if I don’t mention Chechnya, I can say that it takes one colonial power to recognise another one. But whether any country is or is not a colonial power should not be used as an excuse for harbouring an apparent murderer.