Russian academics signed an anti-war letter four years ago. Now the FSB is questioning them again, and universities are refusing to renew some of their contracts.
The FSB and administrators at universities and research institutes are pressuring scholars who signed an anti-war letter in 2022, as well as employees whose names appeared in a leaked database of Smart Voting users, according to T-invariant.
Four years ago, Russian academics signed an anti-war letter. However, the Federal Security Service (FSB) and university administrators are now questioning them again, according to T-invariant. Scholars whose names appeared in a leaked Smart Voting database are facing scrutiny and potential contract non-renewal. A scholar from the Urals recounted his experience with an FSB officer who questioned his views on the war, despite signing the letter four years prior.
The officer presented him with a printout of the archived webpage containing the letter. Similarly, an employee at a Siberian research institute was summoned by an FSB representative following a request from Moscow, questioning her sources for the letter. In St. Petersburg State University, opposition views have led to heightened pressure on scholars.
Former employees reported that their contracts were not renewed due to their inclusion on a blacklist. The system categorizes employees as yellow or red, with the latter considered politically unreliable. To remove their name from the blacklist, some employees must donate to the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation or work for the pro-government Znanie Society.
Universities like HSE and the European University in St. Petersburg have also stopped renewing contracts for employees who signed the anti-war letter.
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