The Russian education watchdog and the state prosecution have carried out an unplanned inspection of the European University at St. Petersburg, BBC News Russian reports, citing eight sources in the university circles.
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According to the broadcaster, inspectors are attending classes, studying lecturers’ articles and students’ thesis topics, particularly the ones dedicated to political science, history, and sociology. The inspectors are interested in the contents of publications and education programmes, as they are particularly
“Looking for signs of extremism in the lecturers’ articles”.
One source told BBC News Russian that the inspection is conducted as part of a wider initiative to combat extremism and terrorism. A similar inspection previously stripped the university of its licence.
A source told the BBC that the inspectors requested a package of documents spanning the past three years (2020-2023): thesis topics and profiles of masters and PhD students as well as their personal education plans agreed by their mentors.
In March 2016, the European University at St. Petersburg lost its education licence following a Russian education watchdog inspection. The university was scrutinised 13 times after this case. In 2019, the university obtained another licence for six years.
The European University at St. Petersburg was founded in 1994 as a private educational institution which exists largely thanks to donations from Russia’s large-scale businesses and an endowment policy. It was initially funded by NGOs in the US and the EU like George Soros’s Open Society Institute, the Ford Foundation, and others. These organisations are labelled as “undesirable” in Russia but the university has not been receiving funds from these NGOs for many years.
The European University’s board of trustees includes ex-chief of the Russian presidential office Alexander Voloshin and ex-chair of Russia’s Accounts Chamber Alexey Kudrin. It is chaired by Hermitage Museum head Mikhail Piotrovsky.
