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On Friday 8 February 2008, a court ordered that all academic work be stopped and classrooms be sealed at the university. According to The Guardian, academics at the EUSP said the move was politically motivated - and followed a row last year over a programme funded by the European Commission to improve the monitoring of Russian elections. The university was awarded a £500,000 EU grant to run a project designed to advise Russia’s political parties on matters such as how to ensure elections are not rigged.
Last October, The Kremlin accused the EUSP (which has close links with universities in the UK and US) of being an agent of foreign meddling. Maxim Reznik, leader of the Yabloko party, said that the closure last week had nothing to do with fire risk, rather the university was being punished for carrying out important work in connection with election monitoring, The Guardian has said.
While President Putin has frequently attacked Russia’s NGOs and human rights groups, accusing them of being traitors and spying for Western nations, he has until now largely ignored the higher education sector, allowing academics relative freedom and autonomy over teaching and research.
The Rector of the EUSP hopes the problem will be resolved in the next few days. NEAR is currently monitoring the situation and will issue an Action Alert if necessary. URGENT
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