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Press Releases (February, 11; February, 13; February, 18; February, 22; February, 27 and March, 21)
Dear Friends, Dear Supporters of the European University at St. Petersburg:
As we hope you know, on Friday March 21st the EUSP was given court permission to resume classes after a temporary suspension for “violations of the fire safety code.” The violations were real, even if most of us suspect they were not the real reason for the suspension. In any event, the court has given the University 100 days to correct them. Work is already underway.
Twenty individuals, three major American foundations, and one similar Russian fund have already made substantial contributions to support the repair work. Over 6000 people from over 30 countries signed collective open letters in support of EUSP. Remarkably, these included 19 letters from scholarly professional associations, 17 from scientific organizations and groups, one with over 398 signatures from distinguished foreign scholars, and a most important public statement by 28 members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. EUSP students and faculty were, of course, no less active. More than 550 articles appeared in the Russian media about the situation, and some 30 articles in major foreign newspapers and other media..
There is no doubt that the government’s decision was largely if not entirely the result of this outpouring of support. All of was enormously important to us in practical terms, but also in other ways. It also made us all understand how deeply our friends and colleagues in Russia and abroad felt the fundamental rights of EUSP students and faculty to the highest quality teaching and independent, creative research, as well as how important these rights are to Russia as a whole.
Rector Vakhtin, the Board of Trustees, and the entire faculty, student body, and staff of the EUSP have all made enormous efforts to resolve this crisis. It has been a process of “civil society in the making”, almost a textbook example of how beleaguered communities can come together to reaffirm their purpose and mutual commitments. I have the real pleasure – honor really – of expressing their heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you.
On behalf of EUSP students, staff and faculty, yours sincerely.
Alexander Kurylev
Executive Director for Overseas Development, EUSP
The European University of St. Petersburg will resume its activities.
21 March 2008
March 21, 2008 the Dzerzhinsky Court decided to formally approve the reopening of the university
and continuance of educational activities. The meeting of the court lasted only three minutes. The court met to discuss a motion put forth by the university, which contended that it had already corrected a majority of the fire code violations asserted by the fire inspection. The federal judge, Anzhelika Morozova, was convinced of complete agreement among participants in the court process that the EUSP had fulfilled its requirements. Thus, she accepted the motion and has agreed to allow the university to continue its educational process.
The decision was immediately put into effect. A court marshal came to the university, and removed the federal stickers which were barring entrance from most of the offices, classrooms, and the university auditorium.
The Committee for Sciences and Higher Education demonstrated a great amount of efficiency and willingness to help in this process. The head of the committee, A.D. Viktorov, presented today an official decree which signified the resumption of the university’s educational license.
Classes of the European University will resume on Monday, March 24th.
Informational note: The European University in Saint Petersburg is a non-state post-graduate educational institution. The university was founded in 1994 by a group of well-known representatives of Russian science and culture, with the support of the Mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoli Sobchak,
and other city authorities. In its more than 10 years of existence, the University has distinguished
itself as one of the leading centres of social sciences and the humanities in Russia, successfully combining the best Russian intellectual traditions with the best of non-Russian scholarship, research
and teaching. More detailed information about the EUSP can be found at our web site: www.eu.spb.ru
For further information, please contact the Rector of the European University in Saint Petersburg
+7 812 275 5137, fax +7 812 275 5139, or by e-mail:
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27 February 2008
PRESS RELEASE
European University at St. Petersburg continues its consultations with the Committee on Science and Higher Education of Saint Petersburg which remains supportive of the University.
Today, during the meeting with EUSP’s Rector, A.D. Viktorov, the Head of the Committee on Science and Higher Education of Saint Petersburg, gave an official agreement for issuing a temporary license that would permit the University to hold its classes outside the building in temporarily rented premises. The Committee could issue this license within several days.
EUSP is currently looking for partners who would be ready to offer such premises under the conditions of a temporary leasing agreement.
There are no teaching activities in the University due to the suspension of the license.
“At the moment we are preoccupied with the search for partners who would be ready to offer us
their own premises under the conditions of a temporary leasing agreement. The major difficulty is
that the partner we are looking for can only be a non-state educational institution that has
ownership rights for their premises and has a relevant license for educational activity” said EUSP’s Rector Nikolai Vakhtin.
Informational note: The European University in Saint Petersburg is a non-state post-graduate educational institution. The university was founded in 1994 by a group of well-known representatives of Russian science and culture, with the support of the Mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoli Sobchak,
and other city authorities. In its more than 10 years of existence, the University has distinguished
itself as one of the leading centres of social sciences and the humanities in Russia, successfully combining the best Russian intellectual traditions with the best of non-Russian scholarship, research
and teaching. More detailed information about the EUSP can be found at our web site: www.eu.spb.ru
For further information, please contact the Rector of the European University in Saint Petersburg
+7 812 275 5137, fax +7 812 275 5139, or by e-mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
22 February 2008
PRESS RELEASE
From February 22nd and extending until a reversal of the judicial decision regarding the suspension
of activity at the European University at St. Petersburg will fulfill its educational responsibilities by holding classes at one of its friends among the non-state educational institutions in St. Petersburg.
This became possible because of support by the Permanent Commission on Education, Culture, and Science of the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly, which has taken a stand in defense of the
rights and legal interests of EUSP students. The Permanent Commission considered it the University’s desire to use space for teaching purposes in another non-state educational institution as an appropriate way to meet its students’ needs. The decision was confirmed by the letter signed by the chair of the Permanent Commission K. E. Sukhenko.
On February 22nd EUSP signed a contract by which the EUSP will be provided with the space
necessary to conduct classes until July 1 of this year. These premises meet all state fire and
medical-epidemiological standards.
European University students will begin to attend their classes on Tuesday, February 26th. It may
be necessary, however, due to the immediate pressures on space, to have lectures and seminars conducted initially in a somewhat reduced format. The EUSP Rectorat is also asking the University’s faculty and students to use off-site and other forms of instruction as much as possible to help
alleviate the situation.
“Of course, this can hardly be considered a full restoration of the University’s educational processes. Nevertheless, it is at least a partial recovery. We have had a meeting which resulted in the adoption of a time schedule for the next several weeks. Also, we are continuing near constant consultations
with A.D. Viktorov, the Head of the Committee on Science and Higher Education of Saint Petersburg. The optimism that he has expressed about the EUSP’s future makes us feel even more confident about the possibility of positive outcomes” said EUSP’s Rector Nikolai Vakhtin.
Informational note: The European University in Saint Petersburg is a non-state post-graduate educational institution. The university was founded in 1994 by a group of well-known representatives of Russian science and culture, with the support of the Mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoli Sobchak, and other city authorities. In its more than 10 years of existence, the University
has distinguished itself as one of the leading centres of social sciences and the humanities in Russia, successfully combining the best Russian intellectual traditions with the best of non-Russian
scholarship, research and teaching. More detailed information about the EUSP can be found at iour
web site: www.eu.spb.ru
For further information, please contact the Rector of the European University in Saint Petersburg
+7 812 275 5137, fax +7 812 275 5139, or by e-mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
18 February 2008
PRESS RELEASE
On February 18th, the Dzerzhinskii court left in force its prior decision on the suspension of the activity of the European University in Saint Petersburg.
In the course of its follow-up inspection of the building at No. 3 Gagarinskaia Street, the fire inspectorate determined that the European University's measure to address fire-safety violations were insufficient to ensure that conducting instruction in the university would not pose a risk to life and health. Instruction at the European University, therefore, remains suspended.
The administration of the European University in Saint Petersburg (EUSP) has the right to appeal to the court again after addressing the violations, which are primarily connected to ensuring unimpeded evacuation of the university's building in case of fire.
EUSP Rector Nikolai Vakhtin stated: "To eliminate several of the violations will require the preparation of a project that must be agreed with the GIOP [St. Petersburg's Committee for State Monitoring, Use, and Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments, which has jurisdiction over the historical facility occupied by the EUSP] as well as significant financial expense. Given this, there is a threat not merely to plans for the second semester, but to the very existence of the university."
Informational note: The European University in Saint Petersburg is a nonstate post-graduate education insitution. The university was founded in 1994 by a group of well-known representatives of Russian science and culture, with the support of Saint Petersburg authorities. In its more than 10 years of existence the university has recommended itself as one of the leading centres of social and humanitarian sciences in Russia, successfully combining Russian intellectual traditions with the best qualities of Western science. More detailed information about EUSP can be found at its web site: www.eu.spb.ru
For further information, please contact Rectorate of the European University in Saint Petersburg +7 812 275 5137, fax +7 812 275 5139,
e-mail:
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13 February 2008
PRESS RELEASE
As an educational institution, the European University in Saint Petersburg has never had, does not
have, and cannot have a political position. 13 February in the American newspaper "The New York Times" published an editorial entitled "Putin Strengthens His Legacy". The editorial claims that "the European University of St. Petersburg, which criticized Putin, was closed down as a 'fire risk'."
The European University in Saint Petersburg is not a political organization, and therefore it cannot have the official political position ascribed to it by "The New York Times."
"The European University has always been famous for its pluralism of views. Our professors are free to hold any convictions and to freely express their point of view. This is their unarguable right. The university, however, is an educational institution, and such organizations, simply by definition, cannot engage in politics. This contradicts not only all laws and rules, but even elementary norms of morality. If we were to publicly declare, for instance, that Harvard University criticizes President Bush, we would be sued and rightly so.
Such publications, which present us as practically a dissident organization situated in opposition to
the Russian government, inflict obvious harm to the work that the European University has done for
12 years already as one of the leaders of Russian education in the area of social and humanitarian sciences," stated EUSP Rector Nikolai Vakhtin.
Informational note: The European University in Saint Petersburg is a nonstate post-graduate
education insitution. The university was founded in 1994 by a group of well-known representatives
of Russian science and culture, with the support of Saint Petersburg authorities. In its more than 10 years of existence the university has recommended itself as one of the leading centres of social and humanitarian sciences in Russia, successfully combining Russian intellectual traditions with the best qualities of Western science. More detailed information about EUSP can be found at its web site: www.eu.spb.ru
For further information, please contact
Rectorate of the European University in Saint Petersburg +7 812 275 5137, fax +7 812 275 5139,
e-mail:
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11 February 2008
PRESS RELEASE
The European University in Saint Petersburg (EUSP) denies claims that instruction at the university was suspended for political reasons. The European University in Saint Petersburg
has always work in strict conformity with Russian Federation legislation, its Charter and its licensing documents.
Over the last one and a half months the University's activity has indeed been checked by several commissions: the State Fire Inspectorate, Central Region Division (18 January), the Federal
Registration Committee of the Russian Federation Ministry of Justice (from 21 January) and the Committee on Science and Higher Education of Saint Petersburg (11 February). However, their goal
was not the closure but the inspection of the university.
"Some observers have linked this unusual surge of inspection activity with the general pre-election situation at the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 and with one of the projects, which was
carried out at EUSPb in 2007. Thus, in today's issue of Kommersant in the article "The Smell of
Firemen at the European University" it is stated that "the work of an educational facility that
prepared election observers has been suspended." I can state that the European University has
never prepared any election observers and is not planning to do so. In the text of the article it is further stated that the project, which allegedly become the occasion for the mistreatment of the university "...included a series of seminars and lectures for observers from political parties.
Participants were instructed in observation not only at polling places but also during the election campaign..." We did indeed have a project related to the elections: research on electoral behavior
in the provinces and corresponding publications. There were plans to instruct election observers
from political parties; however, after a verification by the Committee on Science of Saint Petersburg this educational part of the program was closed by my order on 27 August 2007 as incompatible with our license. This happened 2.5 months before classes were to begin," comments EUSP Rector Nikolai Vakhtin.
Informational note: The European University in Saint Petersburg is a nonstate post-graduate
education insitution. The university was founded in 1994 by a group of well-known representatives
of Russian science and culture, with the support of Saint Petersburg authorities. In its more than 10 years of existence the university has recommended itself as one of the leading centres of social and humanitarian sciences in Russia, successfully combining Russian intellectual traditions with the best qualities of Western science. More detailed information about EUSP can be found at its web site: www.eu.spb.ru
For further information, please contact Rectorate of the European University in Saint Petersburg
+7 812 275 5137, fax +7 812 275 5139, e-mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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