The Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow received a protocol under article on participation in activities of an “undesirable organization”, compiled against a lecturer at the Free University, Doctor of Law, Elena Lukyanova. Mediazona drew attention to the case file on the court’s website.
In March 2023, the Prosecutor General's Office recognized the activities of the Free University as “undesirable” in Russia. The department explained this by saying that the university was created by people recognized as “foreign agents,” and its teachers “impose” on students an “ultra-liberal model of European democracy.”
After the decision of the Prosecutor General's Office, the educational institution announced the suspension of activities in Russia. University representatives decided to develop it “outside the jurisdiction” of the country.
The Free University began work in September 2020. Lukyanova was one of its founders, along with former teachers of the HSE School of Philosophy Kirill Martynov, Victor and Yulia Gorbatov. Before the Free University, Lukyanova also worked at the Higher School of Economics; she was a member of the “University Solidarity” trade union. In 2020, the university did not renew the contracts with her and several other teachers, explaining this by “reorganization.”
The Free University conducts free online seminars on law, economics, mathematics, sociology, cultural studies, political science, psychology and philosophy.