Repression grows in Russian universities

Civil rights activists believe that repression in Russia in the wake of the war of aggression against Ukraine has also put universities and colleges under greater political pressure. The organisation Molnija, which campaigns for students' rights, has recorded significantly more cases of forced expulsions since the start of the war in 2022.

Students are being removed from universities for criticising the war or for other political motives. A study on freedom of higher education in Russia lists several cases in 2023 in which lecturers were also dismissed or punished. However, there are no exact figures on the growth of university expulsions for political reasons.

According to official figures, around 4.3 million students study at around 1,000 universities and colleges in Russia. Universities are one of the most sensitive areas of society, said journalist Wera Ryklina from the media project "Strana i mir", at an event organised by the German Sakharov Society. Russia is preparing itself for a long-lasting conflict with the west. University policy shows what kind of society the Russian state under Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is striving for.

This includes militarisation and ideological indoctrination, explained the exiled Russian sociologist Dmitry Dubrovsky, an author of the study on university freedom for the Washington DC-based CISRus research association, which studies post-communist societies. Military training had returned and subjects such as "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood" or "Religions of Russia" had been introduced for patriotic education. Secret service officers have moved into university administrations.

Denounced

Students or lecturers who toe the line scour the accounts of their fellow students or colleagues on social networks for dissenting opinions, said Dubrowski. Russian exile media outlet The Insider reported on a recent case in mid-July. According to the report, lecturer Nikolai Rosov was dismissed from the philosophy department at Novosibirsk University - a colleague had denounced him for allegedly being a "radical westerner".

Several faculties and private universities that were considered liberal were closed. The diversity of teaching at Russian universities also suffers from the fact that many lecturers and organisations are classified as so-called foreign agents, said Dubrovsky. In extreme cases, academic partners have been branded as undesirable – for example, German Historical Institute (DHI) in Moscow. This means that cooperation with it is punishable by law.

With the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the DHI suspended its scholarship programmes, cooperation with state institutions and event activities, reports the German publication Forschung & Lehre, with reference to a statement by the Max Weber Foundation, which funds the institute. The foundation views the classification of the DHI by the Russian Ministry of Justice as a serious blow to freedom of expression and academic freedom. However, the central library will continue to operate and a decentralised network will be established so that researchers can continue to study Russian and Soviet history freely and independently.

Demonstrations unauthorised

Students are often expelled from university if they take part in unauthorised demonstrations, reports Molnija. The reason given for this is a violation of the university's rules of conduct. Students who are involved in social or trade union activities or who work as journalists are particularly at risk. Demonstrations are still banned in Russia on the grounds of protection against coronavirus transmission.

Molnija points out that in the years before the war, only a handful of cases of university expulsions for political reasons came to light. But in the war years 2022 and 2023, there were several dozen. Dismissed students are largely unprotected, said a lawyer from Molnija speaking anonymously. They have no jobs, government agencies refuse to contact them and they are threatened with being called up for military service. Thousands of critical students and lecturers have gone abroad because of the war.

Russian elite students who have gone abroad to the west on scholarship programmes and had planned to return are now also increasingly suspected of espionage. The online outlet dekoder recently reported on scholarship holders from the US Fulbright program. Even during the Cold War, the Soviet Union used the programme to send talented young researchers to US universities.

At the beginning of 2024, however, the Russian government declared the Institute of International Education (IIE), the sponsor of the Fulbright programme, to be an undesirable organisation. Russians who were already studying in the US or had been accepted for a scholarship are now afraid of returning to their home country. Students told dekoder about the risk of being put on the list of foreign agents. Since foreign agents are not allowed to carry out educational work, Fulbright alumni cannot pass on the knowledge they have acquired. They can no longer implement projects that they had planned before their stay in the US.