Recognized Canadian professors are distancing themselves from Russia, having decided, since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, to break their association with organizations linked to the government of Vladimir Putin. If such dissociation has been imposed in some European countries, these specialists in Russian politics have done it of their own accord.
At Carleton University, Professor Piotr Dutkiewicz recently ended some of his affiliations with the Russian federation, he told the Homework, without specifying which ones. The expert is, among other things, a member of Club Valdai, a think tank that has hosted President Vladimir Putin on several occasions during his conferences. University of Ottawa professor Paul Robinson announced on his blog at the end of February the eventual end of his association with the RT channel, where he wrote columns. The academic confirmed on March 10 the end of this relationship.
University of Waterloo professor Alexander Statiev says Club Valdai has ‘strong ties’ to Kremlin, as does newspaper Russia in Global Affairs, in which Piotr Dutkiewicz has signed articles. In the pages of Moscow Timesthe club was once described as a “propaganda tool” by Nikolai Petrov, a researcher at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs.
Professors Dutkiewicz and Robinson did not want to explain to the Homework the reasons that led to the end of their relationship. But the trigger will have been the start of the war. After often repeating Kremlin communications verbatim, these professors may feel they have been cheated, said John Jaworsky, professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo. “The war in Ukraine shocked many people who tried to understand the motivations and logic of the Russian government’s actions, since it contradicted their opinion on the rationality of the action,” says Professor Alexander Statiev, the former colleague of John Jaworsky.
On the other hand, some Canadian researchers associated with Russian public universities have also severed their ties. This is the case of Lynne Viola of the University of Toronto — a leader in the field of research on the history of Russia in the twentiethand century — which terminated its honorary association with the Moscow School of Economics at the beginning of March. The rector of the Russian establishment is among a group of university leaders who have signed a petition supporting the war in Ukraine. “There is no excuse for continuing to be affiliated with the school,” says Lynne Viola.
In some European countries, such as Germany and Denmark, the end of relations between their academics and their Russian colleagues was imposed, which was not done in Canada. On Friday, the Canadian government said in a statement that it would not ban “large-scale collaborative work with individual Russian researchers.” But research funding bodies, such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, will have to refrain from entering into agreements with Russian research institutions.
“International research collaboration is an integral part of the Canadian research ecosystem, but it must be conducted in a responsible and ethical manner,” said Lisa Wallace, spokesperson for Universities Canada. The Canadian Association of University Teachers does not yet have a position on the subject.
Relevance of the relationship
In general, opinions differ on the relevance of collaborating with entities linked to the Russian government. According to Alexander Statiev of the University of Waterloo, working with a channel like RT can make it easier to understand Russia in the West and vice versa. Some researchers partner with Kremlin-linked organizations to gain access to archival material, says John Jaworsky. These are increasingly difficult to obtain in Russia.
For Lucan Way, collaborations with Russian state channels were out of the question, regardless of the possible benefits. The specialist in the former Soviet Union was approached by the RT and Sputnik channels to comment on the news, but refused. “I never did it, even before the war, because they are propaganda organizations,” explains the professor from the University of Toronto. The relevance of this type of link was more ambiguous before 2014, but since the invasion of Crimea, “it has become increasingly difficult to justify it”, he says.
“But some people are asking that we end ties with all Russians or academics and that too is also a mistake,” warns the specialist on the Soviet Union. “There are many brave Russian researchers who are fighting for a good cause, and we should support them,” he said.
Some of them are at the School of Advanced Studies in Economics in Moscow, an establishment with which Lynne Viola was associated. According to the professor, researchers at the university’s Institute for Advanced Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies have for a long time been able to work independently, despite the ties between the institution and the government, without being disturbed by this last. “Now, I don’t know if that will be the case again; I’m sure that will change,” she said.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.