A world-class education: How the Russian state strives for global academic recognition while undercutting its universities at every step

Academic rights and freedoms were among the few achievements won by Russia's democratizing turn in the 1990s, even as government funding plummeted. Now the state has returned to the academy, aiming to make it world-class. In an essay for Meduza's Ideas section, sociologist Dmitry Dubrovsky explains why such a goal is incompatible with a repressive stance seeking to limit contacts with the global academic community. Original Article: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/09/01/a-world-class-education