Academic retreat

The university is one of the largest entities deemed “undesirable” to date, with around 100 Russian citizens currently studying or working at CEU. As a result, Russian students and staff at CEU find themselves in a difficult situation, unable to safely return home after graduating or leaving their post at CEU. Despite this, neither the university nor human rights advocates appear to be in much of a rush to help them.

In September 2019, Central European University (CEU) opened its new campus in Vienna’s most multicultural district, Favoriten. The campus is home to students from over a hundred countries, including Russia. However, the fanfare and celebratory speeches of the opening ceremony couldn’t conceal the bleak reason behind the opening of the Vienna campus: the Hungarian authorities had quite literally forced the university out of Budapest, where it had been located for over 20 years, just a year beforehand.

Four years after the bittersweet ceremony in Vienna, CEU is once again under attack — this time in Russia, where it was declared an “undesirable” organisation on 16 October. According to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the university “shapes a global anti-Russian media agenda” and develops its programmes “with an emphasis on Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine and statements about the second-class status of Russian citizens who support the special military operation”. The Prosecutor’s Office also notes that CEU receives funding from funds affiliated with American financier and philanthropist George Soros that were declared “undesirable” in Russia seven years ago.

The Central European University was founded in Prague in 1991 and began operating in Budapest in 1993 with financial support from Soros. At the time, the university’s stated goal was the “development of an open and democratic society” in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the former USSR. After the collapse of communism, Soros invested significant funds in the development of science and culture in the region.

For many years, students from Russia made up a significant portion of CEU’s student body, and many CEU graduates have gone on to work for Russian state institutions.

Even though CEU is located in Austria, its “undesirable organisation” status poses significant risks for its approximately 100 Russian students and staff. Their association with an “undesirable organisation” means they could face criminal penalties of up to six years in prison. However, many of them won’t have the option of staying in the EU after completing their studies or ending their employment at CEU.

Despite this, the university isn’t rushing to take active measures to protect its students, as it did recently in other cases. European human rights organisations don’t yet see it as a serious problem. Students, meanwhile, feel trapped.

A neutral position

“We’ll be kicked out of here as soon as we graduate, because Austria has a ‘neutral position [on the war in Ukraine].’ What should we do then?” asks Anton, a PhD student at CEU (all the student names in this story have been changed for their safety). “The prospect of going back to Russia after studying at an ‘undesirable’ university is very frightening. Even if we obediently drop out of our studies now, there’s no guarantee that they won’t decide to investigate us, as it’s completely unclear how this law works.”

After CEU was declared “undesirable”, Anton sought advice from both Austrian and Russian human rights advocates alongside fellow Russian students. However, they feel that their problem hasn’t been taken seriously.

“We’re in a bureaucratic trap,” explains Anton. “We’re already cooperating or affiliated with an ‘undesirable’ organisation. But we’re in Austria and, according to human rights advocates, we should seek protection here. The problem is that Austria doesn’t issue humanitarian visas, and the asylum application process takes years.”

Austria does not issue humanitarian visas, meaning that the only tool of protection foreigners can apply for is political asylum, which can only be claimed by those at risk of persecution in their home country due to their race, religion, ethnic background, membership of a particular social group, or political beliefs.

According to Eurostat, 715 Russian citizens applied for political asylum in Austria in 2022, of which 550 were reviewed, and 360 were approved. However, since the decision-making process can take anywhere from six months to several years, it’s likely that some of the applications approved in 2022 were submitted in previous years.

Victoria started her master’s at CEU this year as it was one of the few universities that didn’t cancel scholarships for Russian students following the invasion of Ukraine. Although she left Russia almost immediately after the start of the war and doesn’t want to return, the university’s "undesirable organisation” status is still making things difficult. Victoria will have to change her area of research as her current topic is related to Russia and could put those she writes about in danger.

She now has no idea what to do after completing her master’s: “Our case is the first example of so many students immediately finding themselves connected to an ‘undesirable’ organisation. 

No political case

Alongside the university’s refusal to take a more active stance, students and staff are also facing a lack of understanding from human rights organisations, who are not yet inclined to consider their situation critical.

The Berlin-based anti-war initiative InTransit, which provides assistance to Russians experiencing political persecution, told Novaya Europe that if CEU students fear prosecution by the Russian government, they should apply for political asylum in Austria. Should that fail, their best option would then be to apply for a German humanitarian visa.

Lawyer Anastasia Burakova, who also founded the Ark project, which helps Russians who left the country due to the war, points out that those connected to “undesirable” organisations face administrative penalties initially, with the prospect of criminal prosecution only becoming realistic in cases of repeat offences, though she also conceded that the law was applied inconsistently and according to the needs of the Russian state.

Alexey Kozlov, a human rights advocate and director of the Berlin-based nonprofit Solidarus, which supports political emigrants from former Soviet states, believes that the authorities won’t consider the situation a “political case”, as CEU students and staff are not being actively persecuted for their beliefs or actions.

“I see no other way than to seek help from the university’s leadership, which can appeal to the Austrian authorities and request, for example, a simplified residency process for graduates who want to stay in Austria,” says Kozlov. “That’s what I would do in the university’s position, because it would be responsible behaviour towards its students,” he adds.

However, according to the students, all their negotiations with CEU’s leadership so far have failed.

After CEU was declared “undesirable” in Russia, the university’s official statement on its website called the Prosecutor General’s decision a “serious restriction of our freedom to cooperate with Russian institutions and individuals” and acknowledged that the new status “puts Russian students and employees of CEU at risk of political persecution”.

The university administration declined to respond to Novaya Europe’s request for comment. 

The problems are just beginning

Either way, all those interviewed by Novaya Europe are convinced that the CEU case will not be the last instance of pressure on foreign universities with students from Russia. Recent charges brought against the European University in Saint Petersburg indicate that the problems resulting from being declared an “undesirable” organisation will affect everyone associated with CEU — institutions, staff, and students.

“All of this is more than just a problem with one university — it’s a very serious attack on academic freedom, and it requires engagement not only from Austria but also from the human rights community,” believes student Anton.

So far, there has been no such engagement, to the extent that some CEU students have come to accept the situation with a kind of fatalism. Despite everything, some even intend to return to Russia, at least for a while.

“I still plan to go because my relatives aren’t getting any younger, and it’s important for me to spend time with them while it’s still possible,” says another student, Alexander. “After the initial shock, I calmed down and just resigned myself to the idea that what will be, will be.”