Russia

2022-06-30 Novosibirsk State University

On June 30, 2022, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested Dmitry Kolker, a scientist and director of a laboratory at Novosibirsk State University on charges of treason. He died in custody two days later, after being transported to Moscow from

2022-04-19 Volgograd State University

On April 19, 2022, the rector of Volgograd State University (VSU) fired Roman Melnichenko, a long-time lecturer at VSU’s Department of Constitutional and Municipal Law, shortly after Russian legal proceedings and a VSU investigation were opened against him for allegedly

2022-03-09 St. Petersburg State University

On March 9, 2022, it was reported that Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs ordered St. Petersburg State University (SPbGU) to expel 13 students who participated in anti-war protests following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On March 2, SPbGu’s vice-rector Alexander Babich

2022-02-28 Plekhanov Russian University of Economics

On February 28, 2022, the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics (PRUE) expelled students Polina Lysenko and Antonina Begacheva for commenting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on social media. On February 24, the students posted Instagram stories that reportedly contained pacifist

2022-02-25 Higher School of Economics

On February 25, 2022, the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow declined to renew the contract of Dmitry Dubrovsky, an internationally renowned scholar and an associate professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences since 2008, apparently on political grounds.

2021-06-21 St. Petersburg State University

On June 21, 2021, the Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office announced the designation of Bard College, a liberal arts college in New York, as an “undesirable foreign organization.” Russia’s law on “undesirable” organizations, passed in May 2015, seeks to limit the influence

2021-04-14 Various

On April 14, 2021, police raided the office of a student magazine and arrested four student editors in connection with a video they had posted on their magazine’s website. On January 26, 2021, it was reported that the Federal Service

2021-01-30 Astrakhan State University

On January 30, 2021, Astrakhan State University (ASU) expelled three students for participating in a January 23 protest in support of imprisoned opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Protests over Navalny’s arrest swept Russia in what the New York Times called the

2020-12-01 Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia

On December 1, 2020, the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) expelled student Pavel Krysevich for his participation in a demonstration in front of the Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) building. During a November 5, 2020 demonstration in support of

2020-10-04 Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration

On October 4, 2020, Russian prosecutors ordered the Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (the Academy) to provide data on students who have allegedly participated in protest activities, as well as on international projects occurring on campus, as

2020-08-30 Higher School of Economics

On August 30, 2020, unidentified individuals reportedly beat Igor Jukov, a prominent student activist and blogger, in apparent retaliation for his public criticism of President Vladimir Putin. On December 6, 2020, Jukov had been convicted of the crime of “inciting

2020-03-21 Moscow State University

On March 21, 2020, police reportedly detained Mikhail Lobanov, a professor in the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics at Moscow State University (MSU), for holding a peaceful demonstration on campus. Lobanov held a “one-person picket” in front of one of

2019-11-27 École des hautes études en sciences sociales

On November 27, 2019, Russian authorities denied entry to and deported French sociologist Carine Clément, who was scheduled to participate in an academic conference on protest movements. Clément resided in Russia from 1996 to 2016 and was a researcher with

2019-09-17 Ural State Economic University

On September 17, 2019, administrative authorities at Ural State Economic University (UrGEU) in Yekaterinburg, Russia, reportedly summoned a student to a meeting on campus, where they threatened him with expulsion based on suspicions regarding his sexual orientation. The 18-year-old first-year

2019-08-02 National Research University Higher School of Economics

On August 2, 2019, Russian authorities arrested Yegor Zhukov, a political science student at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow, in apparent retaliation for his nonviolent, expressive activity, including his alleged role in a protest