The General Prosecutor’s Office of Russia declared the Free University “undesirable”. This was reported in the telegram channel of the supervisory authority.
The “Free University”, located in Latvia, was founded by citizens of the Russian Federation, including those who are recognized as “foreign agents” in Russia, and the faculty promotes the activities of organizations recognized in Russia as “extremist”, the report says.
“The literature developed and used within the walls of the university has a pronounced anti-Russian character,” the prosecutor’s office believes. “In the course of the educational process, a persistent dislike for Russia is formed among students and an ultra-liberal model of European democracy is imposed.”
The agency states that the activity of the university “poses a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order, territorial integrity and security of the state.”
The Free University was founded in 2020 by former HSE teachers, with whom the university refused to renew contracts. Among them are Elena Lukyanova (member of the emigrant opposition organization Congress of People’s Deputies) and Kirill Martynov (editor-in-chief of the Latvia-based Novaya Gazeta. Europe). Teachers, among whom there are well-known scientists, give online courses, usually in the humanities.
Kirill Martynov tweeted that the university will continue to work.