After the press and freedom of expression, Russian higher education is gradually coming under government control. Universities, and what they teach, are closely watched by the Kremlin.
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The situation is already known with regard to the independent press and freedom of expression. In Russia, it is now the universities and their teaching that have been particularly monitored and controlled by the Russian authorities since the start of the war in Ukraine.
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Although higher education had already been partly under control for several years, there were still a few universities in the country providing education qualified as “‘liberal” in Russia, that is, universities aligned with the values promoted in Western universities in terms of freedom of expression, human rights and ethics.
For a long time, the Moscow Higher School of Economics was considered one of the best, if not the best, university in Russia. It was one of the most liberal in any case, with real freedom of education. In the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, when its rector signed a letter of support to the Kremlin, along with 300 other university presidents, many understood that things were about to change. Almost immediately, several students were then summoned because they had expressed their opposition to the war, teachers were dismissed.
“It’s a message for all teachers to tell them that they have to choose.”
Grégory Youdine, professor of sociology at the HSE in Moscowat franceinfo
Grigory Youdine teaches sociology there. For him, power has taken control of higher education. “Today, we must deliver lessons called lessons of patriotismhe explains. These lessons are simply propaganda. To continue teaching at the university, we must correct the content of our courses“, he assures.
Russia announced a few days ago that it was going to leave the Bologna process which aims to bring European universities closer together. Higher education has been particularly watched lately, but the recovery concerns all education. According to a survey by the Mediazona site, publishers of Russian textbooks have been instructed to limit all references to Ukraine as much as possible.