"Novaya Gazeta": university activists are combated by carriers of archaic system of "concepts"

The managers of Russian universities and colleges have discouraged pupils from participating in actions for Navalny, by misinterpreting the law or rejecting the legality as such, the publication of the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper asserts.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 23 and 31, 2021, all over Russia, including in Southern regions, mass rallies were held in support of Alexei Navalny.

Trying to prevent students from participating in protests in January, top managers of Russian universities, spawned a new genre of academic rhetoric that can be called "warnings," the authors of the DOXA student magazine, Alexandra Arkhipova and Boris Peigin, said in their article published by "Novaya Gazeta" on February 19.

Three forms of pressure are used in the "warnings": direct threats and blackmailing; bribery (for example, an offer to take some failed exam on the day of the protest); and direct insults and rudeness – thus, activists were treated as "socially hyperactive students" and "flock of sheep." For example, the article quotes the statement of the curator of the Rostov State Economic University: "Whoever goes to the rally on January 23, will be immediately expelled."

From the viewpoint of the Russian legislation, participation in a rally, even if it is not sanctioned, is not in itself an offense, and cannot be a ground for expulsion, the authors of the article point out.

The authors of the DOXA magazine also treat the common threats to students with problems in the upcoming employment as manipulation. "Such warnings are outside the scope of the law, and are themselves a violation thereof," the article states.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 20, 2021 at 08:50 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.