Russia's universities purge liberal voices in a chilling echo of history

In universities across Russia, authorities are expelling liberal students from institutions. Professors who value freedom of speech have already received their marching orders. In Russia, only patriots are now accepted for studies, all to curry favor with Putin.

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Russia has been progressively isolating itself from the Western world. The government places a significant emphasis on the proper education of young Russians. Those with too liberal or pro-Western views are being expelled from universities.

This is the tip of the iceberg of changes in the last two years. The entire education system in Russia has been quickly "corrected." Universities are being cleared of professors who do not teach according to the "correct" - Russian approach.

Professors who spoke out against the war or provided students with safe spaces to question it have been fired. Students who picketed or published on social media in favor of peace have been expelled - reports the American newspaper The Washington Post.

According to American journalists, the situation at Russian universities is clear-cut. You're either a patriot and you study or discuss, and you're removed from the university. One of the students explains what studying used to be like just a few years ago.

We had many classes on the history of the United States, American political life, democracy, and political thought, alongside courses on the history and political sciences of Russia, the history of US-Russian relations, and even a course titled "ABC of War: Causes, Effects, Consequences." All of them are gone now - said Ksenia to The Washington Post. She requested her name be changed due to fear of retribution.

Purges at universities spare no one. Whether someone is an Olympian or the head of the student council, in extreme cases, students can end up in prison.

"This all very much resembles the Stalinist purges of the 1930s. The tolerated boundary of protest is now silence and saying nothing. Despair and a sense that everything has been crushed prevail at the faculty" - said 22-year-old Michael Martin.

The young man was a star at the university. He was automatically accepted after winning two national academic competitions and achieving straight As. Martin was the head of the student council, which issued a hastily written anti-war manifesto in a cafe on the day of the invasion.

Shortly thereafter, he had to flee the country. He was accused of discrediting the army, facing a sentence of up to 15 years.

Russian students will not go on exchange to the West. In 2021, Russia ended a more than 20-year exchange program between Smolny College in Saint Petersburg and Bard College in New York. The Russians considered the private American liberal arts school an "undesirable" organization.

Universities and all Russian institutions also withdrew from the Bologna process, aiming to adopt a system of comparable degrees and academic titles across almost all of Europe. It was stated that Russian deans and rectors want to show they are not susceptible to foreign influences.