Central European University

Central European University
Date of incident: October 16, 2023
Type of violation: violation of autonomy
Institution: Central European University

Summary: On October 16, 2023, according to a message from the official Telegram channel of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation activity Central European University has been deemed “undesirable”. Russian laws allow citizens to be held administratively and then criminally liable for any “participation in the activities” of such organizations.

Details. The Prosecutor General’s Office writes: “… the university has launched a number of educational programs for students that deliberately devalue and distort the history of the Russian state, downplay the merits of prominent Russian scientists, writers, and cultural figures, and promote pseudo-assertions about Russia’s guilt in all global cataclysms, which is clearly not true.” Any cooperation with an “undesirable” organization may result in a fine of up to 15,000 rubles for the first “violation” (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) and up to 4 years of imprisonment for a repeat offense (Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Central European University (Central European University) is an English-language, US and Austrian-accredited higher education institution located in Vienna. It was founded in 1991 with the financial support of Hungarian-American financier George Soros with the goal of developing open societies and democracy in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

On March 31, 2023, Free University was declared “undesirable”.

Source: Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation

16 October 2023

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Dismissals, fines, stigmatization, criminal cases, torture — all this awaits in Russia those who are trying to tell the truth, oppose war, protect peace, criticize the authorities or simply honestly do their academic and teaching work .

T-invariant and the CISRUS Centerwill work together to chronicle the persecution of scientists in Russia for as long as it continues. If you have witnessed or been the target of academic harassment, please contact us at [email protected].

The chronicle records violations of the rights and freedoms of scientists and teachersas citizens of the Russian Federation, as well as violations of their academic rights and freedoms by the leadership of their scientific institution.