(Moscow Times) In March every year, students at the European University in St. Petersburg set off the building’s fire alarms and parade a fire hose down the main street in front of the neoclassical Small Marble Palace.
The rowdy spectacle is a celebration of EUSP’s win over an attempt by the local authorities to close down the school over supposed fire-safety breaches in 2008.
But this year the ritual was less celebration than deja-vu. The march came at the end of an anxiety-filled spring term, which ended a month early, dampened by new fears the school could be shuttered — this time for good.
Russia’s education watchdog Rosobrnadzor last year revoked the university’s teaching license, citing unspecified administrative violations. Rather than appeal the watchdog’s decision, the university reapplied to the government for a new permit. […]
“Kudrin is one of the possible candidates for prime minister,” explains Ivan Kurilla, International Program Director at EUSP.
“In a way, the European University can be seen as one of Kudrin’s assets, and taking the European University is actually taking on Kudrin.”
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