An appeal by the Federal Bureau of Yabloko, 27.05.2020

The Federal Bureau of Yabloko appealed to Public Prosecutor General of Russia after more than 200 students were unlawfully expelled from the Russian State Social Sciences University during the pandemic when they could not even appeal the decisions of the university management. One of the expelled students, Yegor Kurasin, is Yabloko’s activist.

Here comes the text of the appeal.

To Igor V. Krasnov,

Public Prosecutor General of Russia

Respected Igor Viktorivich,

The difficult economic, social and psychological situation that developed during the fight against the coronavirus pandemic requires careful and thoughtful actions, especially if they can infringe on the rights and legitimate interests of citizens. This principle fully applies to the realisation of the right to education.

According to our information, in the midst of a pandemic, the management of the Russian State Social Sciences University (RGSU) expelled more than 200 students. The formal reasons for expelling them were academic failure and violation of the rules of strict isolation established in the hostel of the university. Some of the expelled students were evicted from the hostel and found themselves in the street.

Thus, Yegor Kurasin, a member of the YABLOKO party, who took an active part in the Moscow City Duma election campaign in September 2019, which led to a victory of Yabloko’s candidate Maxim Kruglov over Natalya Pochinok, Rector of the Russian State Social Sciences University, was expelled along with other politically active students from the university under the pretext of a failed exam in the discipline Political Analysis and Forecasting. In March 2020, students Natavan Mamedova, Anastasia Knyazeva, Nino Machivariani, Elizaveta Levicheva, Stanislav Epifanov and others who came to the exam were registered as absentees, and in April 2020 Kurasin was not have an opportunity to choose an examination ticket during a repeated exam under suprevision of a commission, he was not given time for preparation and was imposed a topic that students did not take because of the university fault (instead of 24 hours of lectures and seminars, the university conducted only half of the classes with students).

There were also other violations on the part of the university. In April 2020, students of the Russian State Social Sciences University from hostel No. 1 were moved to hostel No. 2, in rooms where other students had already been living. At the same time, students were forbidden not only to go to shops and pharmacies, but even come out to the fenced territory of ​​the hostel. Students Yegor Ocheretin and Danila Petrov asked the head of the security service to allow them to go to the pharmacy, as one of the female students had a chronic illness and needed medication. After they were refused to be allowed to go to the pharmacy, Ocheretin and Petrov, with the help of the police, were able to leave the hostel, but they were not allowed back, [the security] refused to hand the medicine for their fellow student, and the students were expelled from the university.

We believe that expelling students from the university before the end of the academic year and eviction from the hostel in a pandemic when students could not even properly appeal the decisions of the management, protect their rights and interests, indicates a clear neglect by the RGSU management to students’ health and their rights, and demonstrates disrespect to the law.

I am asking you to form a group from the staff of the Central Office of the Public Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation to check the described and other cases of expulsion of students from educational institutions during the pandemic. We are convinced that the ordeal that has befallen our country and other countries is not the best time to settle scores and crack down on dissenting students.

Sincerely,

Nikolai Rybakov,

Yabloko Chairman