Academic censorship in Russia, with Stanislav Byshok

“On the Barricades” s05e07

On this week’s release of “On the Barricades,” hosts Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat speak to return-guest Stanislav Byshok, a Russian political scientist. Stanislav earned a PhD after graduating from Moscow State University, and he is frequently described as a scholar deconstructing nationalism and populism in international researcher databases. He’s written a number of books and reports on current Russian, Ukrainian, and European politics.

First we discuss the issue of academic work and freedom of speech in Russia, compared to Romania and Poland. Stanislav gives us his insight into the changes in work conditions in the Russian academic institutions since tenure was replaced by work contracts some 25 years ago. We discuss recent examples of censorship on campus, and more broadly in society, to see how the Russian authorities suppress critique of their policies – especially debate on the validity of the war.