Russia Designates Three Harvard Institutions As ‘Undesirable’ | News

The Russian Ministry of Justice designated three Harvard-affiliated institutions as “undesirable organizations” in June, exposing Russian citizens who work with, fund, or publicly support them to fines, compulsory labor, or prison sentences of up to six years.

The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, and Harvard Kennedy School joined a growing list of American universities and research centers targeted by the Russian government, including Stanford University, Yale University, Tufts University, and the University of California, Berkeley.

Under Russian law, an organization may be deemed “undesirable” if authorities determine that it threatens the county’s constitutional order, national defense, or state security. The designation can penalize Russian citizens for financing, organizing, or participation in the organization’s activities.

The three Harvard institutions said they receive no advance notice or explanation for the designation. The Russian Ministry of Justice and Prosecutor’s General Office did not respond to requests for comment.

Valeriia Vetoshkina — a lawyer at OVD-info, a Russian human rights organization — said authorities have historically interpreted “participation” broadly.

“Activities that may seem routine — such as giving an interview, speaking at an event, reposting the organization’s materials, or making a donation — can create legal risks under Russian law,” she wrote in a Monday statement.

Vetoshkina said that the designation appeared consistent with a broader crackdown on educational institutions and initiatives with international ties. Since 2022, she added, Russian authorities have applied to conduct committed internationally as well.

“Both administrative and criminal proceedings may be initiated even if the person is outside Russia and all of the relevant conduct took place abroad,” she wrote.

The Kennedy School hosted four Russian students or scholars during the past academic year, according to data from the Harvard International Office.

“The Kennedy School is aware of the designation by the Russian Ministry of Justice,” an HKS spokesperson wrote in a statement. “We are currently working to notify potentially impacted individuals.”

Vetoshkina wrote that even when affiliates are based in the U.S., their relatives in Russia could face questioning or searches.

“Unfortunately, house searches have become a routine investigative measure in politically motivated cases in Russia, and are often carried out even when the authorities know that the suspect has been living abroad for a long time,” she wrote.

Steven Solnick, executive director of the Davis Center, said the designation did not surprise him, citing Russia’s previous targeting of educational institutions and complicated relationships between the U.S. and Russia.

“It has been our mission for over 75 years to support and promote scholarship and analysis of Russia and Eurasia and Eastern Europe across multiple disciplines, history, culture, politics, society, language,” he said. “We have done that through periods of greater or lesser openness of Russia.”

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the Davis Center ended direct programming with Russian universities that supported the war. Solnick said the center would notify affiliates but expected few short-term effects.

Serhii Plokhii, a member of HURI’s executive committee and its former director, said he learned of the designation from The Crimson. HURI hosted visiting scholars from Russia before the war, he said, but those who remained affiliated with the institute have since left Russia permanently and cannot return.

“The war put Ukraine in the center of attention of public media academic circles, and certainly that the way how the institute responded to that with commentary publications and other things really raised the profile of the institute in academia in general,” Plokhii said. “Certainly, probably also helped it to appear on the radars of the Russian government.”

“In that sense we certainly are quite visible, and in that sense, ending up on that list of undesirable organizations doesn’t come as a big surprise,” he added.

The declaration could further restrict HURI’s work with scholars based in Russia and its researchers’ access to Russian archives, according to HURI executive director Tymish J. Holowinsky.

Emily Channell-Justice, director of HURI’s Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program and one of several HURI affiliates previously sanctioned by the Russian government, called the designation “recognition that we’re doing something right.’

“We just continue with what we’re doing. The information war is a part of this war. We’ve known that since the beginning,” Channel-Justice said.

“We just keep doing that and keep reminding ourselves that even if sometimes we don’t measure the impact, something like this is actually an international recognition of our impact,” she added.

In 2023, Russia’s Foreign Ministry sanctioned nearly 500 American citizens, including Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny S. Pritzker ’81 and four HURI affiliates, barring them from entering the country.

—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham.

—Staff writer Alexa M. Schmitt can be reached at [email protected] or Signal at alexaschmitt.15. Follow her on X ​​@alexa_m15_s.