Russian authorities open investigation into university’s Ukrainian culture exhibit, but student council pushes back

The Russian Education and Science Ministry has organized an official investigation into Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) after the institution hosted an international fair with exhibits by students from various countries, including Ukraine, on Monday.

Deputy Education and Science Minister Konstantin Mogilevsky told the state news outlet TASS that the fact that Ukrainian flags were hanging on the university’s walls is “unacceptable.” “Those responsible will be punished,” he vowed.

On Tuesday, the university’s student council released a statement saying that the authorities’ reaction to the exhibits “haven’t caused us to feel anything except horror and confusion.” The student leaders noted that even during wartime, people “have always remained people,” and that “in the age of technology and globalization,” they shouldn’t become “hostages of the information war.”

“We, the students of the country’s most international university, are not willing to close our eyes to the harassment and oppression of others on the basis of nationality,” reads the statement. The response was shared by the university’s official VKontakte page.