Every day we have to hear loud groans from our patriotic guards about how liberalism is permeated with our president, our government, our deputies and officials, in general, everything is on an extensive list. Therefore, any actions of the authorities are assessed as another informational occasion for screams and incantations on the topic of liberalism suffocating Russia.

At the same time, the actions of the authorities, which spread rot and stifle this same liberalism, our patriots do not see at close range. They bring cognitive dissonance into their mental structure, and therefore it is better to dismiss them as from an annoying fly that has flown into the wrong place.

Well, I'll have to bother them a little. And upset.

They have obvious problems with an adequate perception of reality.

Let's not bore ourselves and our readers once again with a story about how closely liberals and liberals covered all the pores and holes of our society in the 90s. Moreover, they gnawed into the structure of education and science with special care.

To make all Russian education Bologna, so that it cooks exclusively lapdogs - that was the task number of times. It was for her that grants were allocated, internships were issued in the western nurseries of Bologna, and complex financing schemes were built.

Anyone who at least periodically monitored this topic can name many addresses where such nurseries for the cultivation of liberalism in the Russian educational, humanitarian and scientific environment have built their nests.

However, few of the patriotic public paid attention to the fact that over the past two years, two odious nests of liberalism have been covered up. Moans about this were heard only on liberal resources. The patriotic press passed over these significant events in almost complete silence. But in vain. They deserve the utmost attention.

So, what are we talking about? And we are talking about the closure of two odious breeding grounds of liberalism in Russia.

The European University at St. Petersburg is closed.


There was in St. Petersburg a certain enclave of liberalism with such a loud and proud name. It was established in 1994 under the patronage of Sobchak. The board of trustees of the university included Alexey Kudrin and Mikhail Piotrovsky.

The university was not organized in the most usual way for Russia: it had only master's and postgraduate studies for graduates of Russian and foreign universities in social sciences and humanities. EU had five faculties: anthropology, art history, history, economics, and political sciences and sociology, as well as four international programs, all of which were taught in English.

Also at the EU there is a program "Gender Studies", in the framework of which, among other things, they investigate the problems of sexual minorities.

EU diplomas have been recognized by leading foreign universities.

The wards of the "European University" develop very specific topics within the framework of their scientific works. A significant part of them is devoted to the values ​​of LGBT people, the strategy for the development of neoliberalism in the Russian Federation, the peculiarities of increasing migration flows in such "undemocratic" (according to the wording of one of the works) countries such as Russia.

The liberal press, which fought with all its might to preserve this hotbed of liberalism, amazed with the masterpieces of its silk-breeding:

So, Rambler wrote: "The leading university was closed in St. Petersburg."

No, gentlemen, I, of course, understand that for your professiogram the absence of logic and common sense is obligatory. But not to complete insanity ?! At the time of closing, the EU had 200 (two hundred) students. What kind of "leading" this, if one may say so, "higher educational institution" can be, against the background of St. Petersburg State University, Polytech, Technolozhka and dozens of other St. orders?

The liberals remembered its closure in the same epithets now, when a similar fate befell the Moscow hotbed of liberals:

Shaninka's accreditation was revoked

reference: Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences (MSSES, "shaninka") (English The Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences (MSSES)) - Russian-British higher educational institution; is a partner of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation and is located on the territory of the Academy.

The school was founded in 1995. One of the founders and the first rector of the School was the British sociologist, professor at the University of Manchester Theodore Shanin. Since 2007, Theodor Shanin has become the President of the School.

It is known that among the first sponsors of Shaninka were the Open Society Foundation of George Soros and the Central European University from Budapest, in fact, also opened in 1991 thanks to the financial support of the same Soros.

In 2015, the Open Society Foundation, which actively climbed into the Russian education system (financed universities, published textbooks), was included by the Russian Ministry of Justice among the organizations whose activities are undesirable in our country. And, I must say, not in vain - the example of Soros's educational experiments in Ukraine was very indicative.

And now they have come for his "chicks" ...

The Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences lost its state accreditation after an audit by Rosobrnadzor. The agency claims that the commission has identified "Numerous violations of the requirements of educational standards" .

University rector Sergey Zuev told Kommersant that these requirements are divorced from reality, and invited the rector's community to discuss the possibility of changing the legislation. His subordinates speak out more openly - they openly declare that they are talking about the defeat of the next higher educational institution after EUSP with a "liberal" reputation.

The multi-page protocol of the commission's decision was also published. It mentions, in particular, that the disciplines "costume history" and "footwear of the 18th – 20th centuries." “Do not form professional competencies”. And the claims to the direction of "jurisprudence" are that "One of the teachers has a higher education in the specialty" history ", qualification" historian "", but at the same time leads the "disciplines" system of property rights "and" agreements on the transfer of property " .

http://www.obrnadzor.gov.ru/common/upload/doc_list/Zakluchenie_oano_vo_Moskovskaya_vysshaya_shkola_sotsialnykh_i_ekonomicheskikh_nauk.pdf

After the revocation of accreditation, Shaninka cannot issue a Russian state-standard diploma, and is also deprived of the right to teach students on a budgetary basis.

The bloody gebnya is completely mad!


Here is the moan of the liberals worth it:

« The European University scenario will be reproduced "with amplification", - suggests Victor Vakhstein.- While we have been stripped of only accreditation, we will continue to teach and give British diplomas. Then they will try to revoke our license and prohibit us from conducting educational activities. But we will teach even then - on the streets, in parks, in exile ".

Several versions are published The bell... One of them is the conflict between Russia and Great Britain (the founder of Shaninka works at the University of Manchester) over the poisoning of the Skripals. Since its inception, the Russian authorities have already closed one British educational organization - the British Council.

« I can count on my fingers the non-state universities that Russia can be proud of, - says the rector of the Higher School of Economics Yaroslav Kuzminov. - These are the Russian School of Economics, the European University at St. Petersburg and "Shaninka"... Now two of the three participants in this stellar list of non-state universities have become disgraced.

"Shaninka" was told "Sha!" - you look, and they will get to HSE…. Horror !!!

And I want to say only one thing about Kuzminov's fears: "We are waiting, sir ... »

Somewhere even with impatience.

R special supervision revoked the accreditation of the legendary "Shaninka" - the Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences. The reason was some flaws in the content of the courses and the department's claims to the qualifications of teachers. The university is still working, but the revocation of accreditation is usually followed by revocation of the license, and this is already the end. It was according to this scenario that the closure of educational activities at another well-known Russian independent university, the European University in St. Petersburg, took place.

A rally in support of the European University was held on Lenin Square, St. Petersburg Photo: David Frenkel / Kommersant

If Shaninka is closed, then there will be no strong, modern and internationally recognized humanitarian universities independent of the state in Russia. The space of higher education (and this is also science) will be entirely in the sphere of influence of the authorities, it will determine desirable and undesirable topics, problems, courses, specialties, and so on. The European University and "Shaninka" were very different: the first was focused, rather, on free education, the second - on paid education for those who already understood what they wanted. The first was more scientific, the second was applied. The universities were united by independence, high prestige in the international educational environment and the demand for graduates. Both Shaninka and EUSP have been working for more than 20 years and have already overgrown with traditions. Usually, claims to Russian diplomas arose abroad, but the diplomas of two Russian independent universities were held in high esteem there. This is one of the reasons why Rosobrnadzor's claims raise questions. Universities worked for decades, their diplomas were recognized, and somehow suddenly, with a lag of one and a half years, it turned out that education in independent Russian universities was somehow different and did not correspond to some state standards. At the same time, both in Moscow and in the provinces, various private legal and economic academies continue to operate, which in fact sell diplomas to their graduates.

Independence from the state does not mean weakness. The connections between Shaninka and EUSP were just good. The Council of the European University (founded by its mayor Anatoly Sobchak) includes the head of the Accounts Chamber, Alexei Kudrin, who is considered one of Vladimir Putin's close associates. During the attack on the university, he did not hold official posts, but relations with the head of state did not disappear anywhere. Kudrin and Putin continued to meet. The presence of such a high intercessor, who also considers the university to be one of the most important projects for himself, did not help in the end.

"Shaninka" cooperates with RANEPA, has common programs with this university. RANEPA is officially called the "Presidential Academy". Recently, news about her has been associated with courses for the personnel reserve, from which the Kremlin now draws resources for high appointments - governors, ministers, and their deputies. Completing such courses becomes almost the main condition for successful career growth for an official and a guarantee of good employment. Ironically, the current Minister of Science Mikhail Kotyukov, who oversees higher education, took these courses at the RANEPA. Now the Rosobrnadzor subordinate to him revokes the license of the friendly academy "Shaninka". The presence of connections and high patrons at the top, cooperation with state institutions, which is beneficial, rather, to the institutions themselves, does not mean anything if the decision to close it was made at the highest level.

Future high-ranking officials jumped under the tank and off the cliff during trainings. Perhaps, in the new curricula of the presidential academy, the emphasis will be placed on just such exercises.

Of course, in one of his conversations with Putin, Kudrin could have raised the topic of EUSP: "help, there is a misunderstanding." For a while, claims against the University of St. Petersburg really seemed like a special case that had to do with raiding, not educational policy. The university is located in the palace of Princess Yuryeva, an old building located in the very center of the city. And if it was only this, Putin would help his friend and colleague - in special cases, the president usually helps those close to him. However, Rosobrnadzor's insistence on the European University and the claims against Shaninka is clear evidence that these are not special cases, but general policy, and Putin will not change it.

Why are the Russian authorities attacking independent universities, why have they become redundant? Historically, the University is one of the main centers of city and country life. It is both a bearer of traditions and a platform for new things. Students and their teachers are free-loving. New political and managerial theories are being born in university classrooms and libraries. At the university, if not everything, then a lot begins. Young economists - zavlabs - prepared the reforms of the 1990s back in the Soviet Union. Young revolutionaries grew up in the universities of the 19th century. Even in an educational institution completely controlled by the authorities, useless new thoughts may appear - what to say about independent institutions, which, moreover, were proud of their will? Knowledge is power: many remember the slogan of the Soviet era, and it is difficult to disagree with the veracity of this statement. A real teacher at a real university teaches to understand the subject, in reality, in the situation in the city and the world, and not in the picture of the world that the authorities impose.

Shaninka Library Photo: Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences

Shaninka and the European University did not correspond to the new Russian reality. Departments of theology appear in many universities, and at the Higher School of Economics, which will now be the flagship of liberal arts education, the works of the conservative philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev have been closely studied for a long time. What is gender research here, what is a critical view? The university may be very modern at the world level, but lag behind Russian modernity, and it is now in theology and Berdyaev. Future high-ranking officials at RANEPA trainings jumped under a tank and off a cliff - that's our way! Perhaps, in the new programs of the Presidential Academy, the emphasis will be placed on these exercises.

In practice, the closure of independent universities will result in their potential students going to study abroad. These people do not want to study at Russian state, albeit the most prestigious, universities. They do not need a crust with which they can get a job in a state corporation and live - not grieve. They want to learn, develop talents and skills in the free atmosphere of a real university. Now these brains will flow abroad. Most likely, teachers - modern and recognized Russian scientists, who, in fact, came to independent universities, so as not to waste time giving tribute to Berdyaev, will most likely gradually leave there. Shaninka and the European University stood out too much from the general picture. For a while, these bright spots seemed to the authorities too small - well, just think, several hundred people study a year. Now the gaze of the state has become more intent, it lingers on any irregularities, roughness, on a seemingly completely smooth surface. The landscape of Russian social and political life should become ideally even, and the withdrawal of accreditation from Shaninka is another step on this path.

Why was the license taken away from the European University at St. Petersburg? December 9th, 2016

Read the investigation why the license was revoked from the controversial European University in St. Petersburg (EU ESPb). In my opinion, it is time to add the definition of “university-foreign agent” or “university-non-profit organization” to the definition of “ineffective university”. What struck most of all in the article was that the rector of this educational institution, O.V. Kharkhordin is a "convinced emigrant", his family and children live in France. And what is he doing in Russia? Making money. 65% of university students are foreigners (mostly US citizens). They are paid a non-acidic scholarship - $ 3500! And this despite the fact that the average scholarship in Russia is almost 90 times lower (2-3 thousand rubles)! Teachers also receive a solid salary - “on average in a hospital” - 250,000 rubles. How much does the rector get? An order of magnitude more.

The wards of the "European University" develop very specific topics within the framework of their scientific works. A significant part of them is devoted to the values ​​of LGBT people, the strategy for the development of neoliberalism in the Russian Federation, the peculiarities of increasing migration flows in such "undemocratic" (according to the wording of one of the works) countries such as Russia. The university is financed by the Soros, MacArthur, Ford, Spencer, Carnegie, Rothschild, and Adenaur foundations. In general - "full bouquet".

Among the sponsors of the European University are the most odious structures involved in the organization of the so-called. "Orange coups" in the post-Soviet space. These structures transfer substantial funds to the accounts of the EU St. Petersburg. Only for the period 2012 - 2015 The university received about $ 8,900,000, € 534,000 and £ 86,000.

On December 7, 2016 Rosobrnadzor suspended the license of the European University at St. Petersburg (EU ESPb). From this moment, the university has no official right to carry out educational activities.


Such a harsh measure was applied due to the results of the examination of the university in July-August 2016: it revealed gross violations of licensing requirements (inconsistency of the EU SPb diplomas with the state standard, violation of educational standards in a number of curricula, inconsistency of management with qualification requirements, etc.). First, on September 20, 2016, Rosobrnadzor banned the admission of applicants to the European University, and now the state structure is preparing a claim to the Arbitration Court for the complete cancellation of the EU St. Petersburg license.

ANO "European University at St. Petersburg" has been operating in Russia since 1994. The university occupies a state-owned building rented from the Property Relations Committee of the Government of St. Petersburg and is a monument of history and architecture. The rector of this educational institution, O.V. Kharkhordin is a "convinced emigrant", his family and children live in France. The board of trustees of the university includes Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail B. Piotrovsky, ex-finance minister Alexei Kudrin, head of the practice for non-profit and educational organizations "Odgers Berndston" E.P. Chernyshkova, senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for International Studies, Lalidus Gale, who has US citizenship and other famous people.

The university is positioned by its leadership as a leading non-state University, which is a forge of personnel for the Russian state, capable of bringing Russia to the forefront. But is it? Let's try to figure it out.

The wards of the "European University" develop very specific topics within the framework of their scientific works. A significant part of them is devoted to the values ​​of LGBT people, “sexual health and sexology in Russia”, the strategy for the development of neoliberalism in the Russian Federation, the peculiarities of increasing migration flows in such “undemocratic” (according to the wording of one of the works) countries like ours. Such "scientific activity" is more like preparing a theoretical springboard for the expansion of neoliberalism on the territory of our country in the interests of foreign states.

At the same time, these personnel are entrusted with the implementation of rather serious programs, including those related to the field of public administration. In the middle of the 2000s, through the implementation of the Interregional Electoral Support Network program, a technology for creating protest sentiments based on news stories about violations during the Russian elections was tested within the EU St. Petersburg. From July 2012 to June 2015, the EU St. Petersburg implemented the project "Supporting the work of the Department for the Development of Partnership Programs with the Universities of Kazan, Perm and Tomsk, as well as non-profit organizations on social sciences and trainings." In 2013, the university prepared a concept for the reforms of the Prosecutor General's Office, the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

It is important to note that 65% of university students involved, among other things, in the implementation of such programs are foreigners (mostly US citizens). They are paid a non-acidic scholarship - $ 3500! And this despite the fact that the average scholarship in Russia is almost 90 times lower (2-3 thousand rubles)! Teachers also receive a solid salary - “on average in a hospital” - 250,000 rubles.

At whose expense is the banquet? It's very simple: the Soros, MacArthur, Ford, Spencer, Carnegie, Rothschild, Adenaur funds. In general - "full bouquet". Among the sponsors of the European University are the most odious structures involved in the organization of the so-called. "Orange coups" in the post-Soviet space.

These structures transfer substantial funds to the accounts of the EU St. Petersburg. Only for the period 2012 - 2015 The university received about $ 8,900,000, € 534,000 and £ 86,000.

It is with this money that all the above programs are implemented. In particular, the “Interregional Electoral Network” (2007) was funded by the European Commission (€ 800,000), “Support for the work of the Department for the Development of Partnership Programs with universities in Kazan, Perm and Tomsk, as well as non-profit organizations on social sciences and training” (2012 - 2015) - for the money of the Soros Institute "Open Society" ($ 2.200.000), "The concept of a comprehensive organizational and managerial reform of law enforcement agencies with proposals for restructuring the Prosecutor General's Office, the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia" - also at the expense of Soros.

It is interesting that in 2011 a technology very similar to the one practiced in the Interregional Electoral Network was fully implemented by the Russian NGO GOLOS. This structure, thanks to the "Map of Violations" project, provided a flow of information about violations in the 2011 State Duma elections, which brought tens of thousands of protesters to the streets (the so-called "swamp protests"). Extremely similar to one of the so-called technologies. "Orange revolutions", which Soros likes to sponsor so much.


Vladimir Klitschko and George Soros discuss the success of Euromaidan in Kiev

Of course, such generosity of foreign NGOs is not selfish. They actually turned the university into an incubator for agents of influence and experts on Russia, whose services are regularly used by our “western partners. So, every time important social and political events take place in Russia, a queue of secretaries of the British and US embassies in Russia is lined up for teachers and graduates of the European University of St.

In fact, the EU St. Petersburg is a think tank, dependent on foreign funding, which educates personnel from which the agency of influence is formed, firmly convinced of the superiority of liberal values ​​and the inferiority of the Russian state structure. It is very strange that such activity is supported by some of our former "statesmen" who are planning their return to the corridors of Russian power.

So, in 2013, the Metalloinvest holding, with the direct patronage of Alexei Kudrin and his own organizational support of the tranche, transferred $ 16,000,000 (!) From Alisher Usmanov's funds to the disposal of the European University in St. Petersburg. In addition, Kudrin simultaneously used funds that he personally controlled to support the activities of the University. A natural question arises: where did the former finance minister get such funds to sponsor liberal values? In the context of Kudrin's support for the unscrupulous Minister Ulyukaev, in spite of the position of the President of the Russian Federation, this question does not sound idle. The European University is also supported by another statesman who has been noted for the active defense of Ulyukaev, Anatoly Chubais. Among other things, he is an active lecturer at this institution.



Unfortunately, the lobbying of the EU St. Petersburg by such characters as Aleksey Kudrin proved to be extremely successful. They managed to involve a number of leading Russian entrepreneurs in financing the incubator of agents of influence, such as the aforementioned Alisher Usmanov, Vladimir Potanin, Igor Finogenov and even federal institutions under the jurisdiction of the Government of the Russian Federation!

The total amount of funds of Russian entrepreneurs and budgetary institutions listed in the university for 2013 - 2016 amounted to about 69,000,000 rubles! How much of these funds was pulled from entrepreneurs and government agencies "in the dark" is a very serious and important issue that, perhaps, should be resolved by the law enforcement agencies of Russia, and not Rosobrnadzor.

On December 7 of this year, Rosobrnadzor suspended the previously existing license for the EU St. Petersburg, after which the European University of St. Petersburg has no official rights to carry out activities in the field of education. On December 12, Sergei Shelin, an observer of the Rosbalt news agency, discusses this.

Such a harsh measure was applied because of the results of the audit of this higher educational institution in the summer of 2016.

She uncovered a number of gross violations of licensing requirements (inconsistency of the diplomas issued by the management of the EU St. Experts from the Novosti Rossii editorial office of the Birzhevoy Leader investor magazine believe that at first in September Rosobrnadzor banned admitting applicants to the auditorium of the European University, and now the state structure is preparing a statement of claim to the judges of the Arbitration Court, which will require the complete revocation of the license for EU St. Petersburg ...

This university has been operating in the Russian Federation since 1994. It occupies the premises of a building rented from the Committee on Property Relations of St. Petersburg and which is an architectural and historical monument.

Mr. Kharkhordin, the rector of this educational institution, has children and a family in France.

The board of trustees of this university includes the director of the Hermitage Piotrovsky, ex-finance minister Kudrin, the head of the practice for educational and non-profit organizations "Odgers Berndston" Chernyshkova, a senior fellow at the Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and a citizen of the United States Mr. Gale and other famous people.

The university positions itself as a leading non-state university, which is a forge of professional personnel for the Russian Federation and is able to bring it to an authoritative position. However, is all this so?

According to Sergei Shelin, this story is not at all about the fact that they intend to slam a successful educational center. It is about what today in the Russian Federation has generally become unpunished, possible and desirable.

Getting hit is not news for the EU. At least, he has been living under the blows since 2008. But until now he fought off attack after attack, including by adjusting the level of his political reliability to the changing whims and notions of the authorities.

By the way, contrary to various denunciations published over the past few days, the EU is in no way a preserve of the opposition to the regime. This is a systemic structure, completely systemic individuals work in it, entering this or that high circle. The UE study is entirely from the upper and middle classes, who are not inclined to street anti-regime activism. Any recommendations and developments concerning pressing issues and produced within the walls of the EU are not addressed to the masses at all, but to the power structures and imply the process of modifying the system and exclusively from above. It is absolutely impossible to imagine that EU is addressing some street calls to the crowd. This is not his style.

Formally speaking, the regime must at worst be completely indifferent to EHM, and at best be grateful for advice. And the privileged strata should surely still have joy that there is a certain place in which their sons and daughters are modernly and well educated.

What, then, is the root of the frenzy with which they are trying to destroy him? Sergey Shelin sees the following reasons as an answer to this question:

1. Any non-state universities have long been trying to somehow cover, and now - with special force. After all, EU is a representative of the disgraced educational sector, but although not typical for it in its quality parameters.

2. The coalition of fighters for the transition to an alternative reality - gay fighters, demoniacs, conspiracy theorists, special ombudsmen, motorcyclists and others - are continuously gaining new forces, seizing administrative command positions and bringing society to the line, at which it is already necessary to choose between a simple reality and an alternative ... In reality, at number two, there is no place for modern knowledge at all.

3. The disintegration of the Russian supervisory, control and security structures has also reached a critical point. They know that they will not be held liable for any kind of damage that will be caused by them, and that quibbles and claims of any amount of implausibility from their lips are taken for granted.

4. A very low, tending to zero, manifested level of civic solidarity in the academic and educational community of Russia. Collective and decisively formulated protests from the leaders of the main universities in St. Petersburg and Moscow would be desirable now, but they are highly unlikely. The broad teaching, professorial and research masses are not very inclined towards their colleagues from the EU, since they believe that this university is much better financially provided than their educational institutions. So it's every man for himself.

And, finally, the fifth reason is the disorganization of the Russian central government, in which the cooperation of a number of divisions of the European University with the Center for Strategic Research of the ex-Minister of Finance Kudrin was probably the last straw that overflowed the patience of the EU's enemies, although the compilation of the list social and economic recommendations were personally entrusted to the former minister by Russian President Putin. It turns out that this can be ignored today.

Founded in 1994 on the initiative of the mayor of St. Petersburg Anatoly Sobchak, the European University is considered one of the best universities in Russia. He is known for his liberal tendencies and works closely with many European and American universities. EUSP is a rather rare type of educational institution in Russia: graduate school is a combination of master's and postgraduate studies. The European University was the first in Russia to repeat the success of such universities as Harvard and Berkeley, implementing their educational model, now recognized as one of the best in the world.

Putin's attacks

Last year, the university received a three-year, million dollar grant from the European Commission to train Russian election observers. Last October, Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked the EUSP as an agent of foreign interference. On January 31, the EUSP Academic Council yielded to Kremlin pressure and abandoned the election monitoring program.

The staff of the European University of St. Petersburg declined to comment on the closure of their institution. At the same time, as a rule, they are guided by the principle "do no harm", adding "well, you yourself understand what state we live in."

Damage to city culture

Irina Flige, director of the Memorial Scientific Information Center, agreed to talk about what the European University was in the cultural and social life of the city. She held a large number of events within the walls of the university and with the active participation of its staff. According to her, the university is a special institution of the city, which combined science, education and active life - scientific and social. “For example, our projects on the history of the twentieth century are connected with research - historical, cultural, political, sociological. And many students and graduates of the European University took an active part in them. cities, "said Flige.

The head of the St. Petersburg regional branch of the Yabloko party Maxim Reznik considers the closure of the European University to be a logical event in the logic of the country's current development. According to him, the credo of the Russian authorities is that those who do not like the authorities, or do not love enough, or do not like them, are already being persecuted. The nature of this power, like a cancerous tumor, does not accept free cells next to it, it devours them. "This free space in any of its manifestations, even not political, causes her irritation. And therefore, the European University, as a territory of freedom, of course, sooner or later would become the subject of" raids "by the Russian authorities," Reznik said.

Threat of loss of premises

By the way, the St. Petersburg branch of Yabloko, as well as a number of other political and public organizations, are threatened with the loss of their premises and a possible suspension of activities. And with someone this has already happened, as, for example, with the Institute of Regional Press, which is forced to hold its events at other venues.

The official reason for this is the closure of the St. Petersburg House of Journalists for reconstruction, but the leadership of the Union of Journalists has already announced that it will not renew the lease agreement with the Institute of Regional Press. As noted by the director of the institute, Anna Sharogradskaya, the eviction from the House of the journalist of an organization that hosted events that were not very pleasant for the local, and often for the federal authorities, seems naturally political. "And I see no other reason why an organization working with the press, providing society through the press with alternative information, should be evicted from the house, which, of its own, was created for this purpose," Sharogradskaya said.

The rector of the European University Nikolai Vakhtin expressed the hope that after all the problems with the observance of fire safety rules are resolved, the university headed by him will resume its work. And according to Maksim Reznik, today, in order to be in the democratic opposition, you need to have a certain amount of optimism, and in a sense - of a clinical nature.

Vladimir Izotov