A fifth historic British brand, the former Crown jeweller Garrard \u2014 which like Farlows has a Royal Warrant \u2014 was this week advertising no fewer than ten Russian stockists on its UK website, apparently under the terms of a supply deal that pre-dates the invasion of Ukraine<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Moral Ratings Agency, a lobby group which monitors Western firms operating in Russia, describes his firm’s presence there as a ‘disgrace’, telling the Mail Sir Paul ought to get his brand out of Russia or be stripped of his titles.<\/p>\n

A few doors down from Paul Smith’s red-fronted shop \u2014 and also open for business \u2014 you’ll find GUM’s branch of Agent Provocateur, the upscale English underwear brand popularised by Kate Moss in the 1990s.\u00a0It is also stocking designs from the new season.<\/p>\n

One of no fewer than ten Russian Agent Provocateur boutiques that are still open \u2014 all of which remain advertised on its British website \u2014 we found it selling crystal-embossed leather bondage whips for 73,000 roubles (\u00a3850), bejewelled pink brassieres for 110,000 roubles (\u00a3,1280) and thongs for up to 85,000 roubles (\u00a3990) each.<\/p>\n

An assistant told us the last shipment of new stock arrived shortly before Christmas and a new one is due in March \u2014 just in time for International Women’s Day.<\/p>\n

Again, it’s hard to see how this British luxury goods firm squares its presence in Moscow with the supposed values listed on its website.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shamelessly, given Russia’s ongoing use of rape as a weapon of war, Agent Provocateur claims to be dedicated to promoting ‘fearless femininity’ and is ‘adhering to the highest standard of ethics’.<\/p>\n

The firm’s current owner, high street tycoon Mike Ashley is, however, no stranger to cutting lucrative business deals in questionable dictatorships.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His moral compass was seemingly untroubled by his recent sale \u2014 for more than twice what he had paid \u2014 of football club Newcastle United to a Saudi Arabia-backed consortium.<\/p>\n

Once they have stocked up on clothes and lingerie, every good oligarch needs a bespoke Rolls-Royce to whisk them from central Moscow to their gaudy dacha.<\/p>\n

Which takes us to the British luxury car firm’s main Russian showroom, on the ground floor of an upscale hotel just across the Moskva river, roughly two miles west of Red Square.<\/p>\n