The situation seems very dubious and the effort has been to get international attention on the problem, to generate signatures on a petition to re-open the university, and to solicit donations for building repairs and letters to the Russian authorities. If you are interested in learning more, there is a blog devoted to this issue. This has also received some attention in the English-language press, with an article in the Guardian and an editorial in the New York Times.There are a few different petitions online now. Here is a petition and letter of support authored by Alexei Yurchak and Michele Rivkin-Fish, two well known and respected American anthropologists of Russia and the former Soviet Union.
The American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies has also generated a statement regarding the EUSP closure.
I include, below, an open letter from the EUSP students. Similar reports have come from faculty as well.
Open letter from EUSP students
Dear colleagues!
As students of the European University at St.Petersburg (EUSP), we would like to ask for your help and support. On February 8th, the activity of the EUSP was suspended for 90 days by order of the district court.
The result is that the university has been paralyzed for the whole semester. This situation is totally unacceptable from our point of view.
The official reason for the suspension of educational activities at the EUSP is that fire-safety violations have occurred at the university building at 3 Gagarinskaya Street, St Petersburg. No problems of this kind had previously been identified by inspections of the fire service. As indicated in press-releases issued by the EUSP administration, the university leadership has taken measures to eliminate the problems revealed by the state fire inspectorate, though some of the problems identified will need months, or even years, to be eliminated completely. The EUSP’s building is a listed building (monument of architecture), and so this process requires huge financial outlay and numerous agreements with a whole range of different official bodies. Hence, the EUSP petitioned to be allowed to conduct its academic activity at the same time as carrying out the work required. The district court has, however, refused to satisfy this petition. On February 18th, the decision to suspend the academic activity of the EUSP was left in force. We are now extremely worried our university will not survive.
The motives underlying this situation are mysterious, and we do not propose to speculate about them. What is crucial for us is that we are now denied the opportunity to study, to attend seminars and lectures, and to carry out our own research. Yet many of us have come to St Petersburg from other cities in Russia with the precise purpose of doing all this, and of enjoying the renowned facilities of the EUSP.
The EUSP is known all over Russia as a graduate school that provides an education of outstanding quality. It accepts only graduate students, those who have already obtained their first degree and decided to devote themselves to research. For the time of over a decade since it was founded, the EUSP has proved that it can train young researchers to the highest international levels, as is shown by the fact that dozens of foreign students from all over the world come to study here every year. Many members of staff at the EUSP have degrees from Western universities, or have taught for significant lengths of time abroad, but have preferred to come back to Russia and make their contribution to developing knowledge here. Those who have completed degrees here are teaching at universities and working at research centres all over Russia, and making a unique contribution to Russian academia. One of the aims of the university is to stimulate young researchers to stay in Russia, to give them chance to realize their research potential here, despite the practical problems of academic careers (low pay etc.) that make these unattractive to many young people.
Now all our plans for the future are under threat because of the shutdown of the university. Essentially, we will lose most of the second semester of the teaching year, a long break that is likely to do serious harm to our professional development. Without having access to the university building, we cannot work at the unique university library, which provides materials not available elsewhere in the city; our research plans have been completely disrupted.
It is essential that the EUSP must be allowed to renew its academic activity in the shortest possible time. A reasonable solution to the existing situation must be found. We see no reason why the elimination of fire-safety violations could not be carried out alongside teaching, or why classes could not be moved, on a temporary basis, to another building while the supposedly most dangerous problems are dealt with.
In order to ensure a swift reopening, we are now asking you to help us. Please get as much publicity as you can for our case. Write to newspapers, make posts on the Net, state your position in public, send letters of support to official organizations and governmental bodies, both in Russia and in your home country. We are desperate to resume our studies; please take our cause to your hearts.
Students of the European University at St.Petersburg
http://www.eu.spb.ru/index.php?lang=en
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