Since May 15 the Prosecutor’s Office and Rosobrnadzor began an unscheduled inspection of the European University in St. Petersburg “as part of measures to combat extremism and terrorism”. This was reported by the BBC Russian Service with reference to eight sources in the university and university circles.
According to the newspaper’s interlocutors, the supervisory authorities are examining the academic papers of professors in search of “extremism”.
In addition, in at least four departments – anthropology, history, sociology and political science – the inspectors requested the personal files of undergraduate and graduate students for the years 2022–2023, as well as their individual research plans and dissertation topics.
As noted by sources, after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the European University parted with foreign professors and those who went abroad. The current inspection affects several dozen professors and several hundred undergraduate and graduate students at the university.
The newspaper’s interlocutors think that the inspection may result in the closure of the university or some of its programs.
