UPDATE 1-Russia slaps sanctions on British officials, historians and academics

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MOSCOW, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Russia on Monday imposed sanctions on 18 British citizens including a number of top academics and Russia experts for what Moscow said was an attempt to demonise Russia and fan the war in Ukraine.

"We are forced to state that Russophobically charged British representatives do not shy away trying to discredit the constitutional system and socio-political processes in our country," Russia's foreign ministry said.

"The so-called brain trusts operating on the basis of the largest British and Western educational institutions make a significant contribution to the subversive work of London in the Russian direction."

Personal sanctions were announced against British Deputy Defence Minister James Cartlidge, Deputy National Security Adviser Sarah MacIntosh and Director of Submarines Simon Asquith.

Others targeted included Stuart Peach, the British prime minister's special envoy to the Western Balkans, as well as Lords Dan Hannan and Michael Ashcroft.

The academics sanctioned included historians Orlando Figes, Norman Davies, Timothy Garton Ash, Rob Johnson, David Abulafia, and experts including Roy Allison of Oxford, Graeme Robertson of the University of North Carolina, Calder Walton of Harvard, and James Sherr of the International Centre for Defence & Security in Tallinn. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge)