European University fined for storing books published with the support of undesirable organizations

The European University in St. Petersburg (EUSP) was fined 70 thousand rubles. under the article on participation in the activities of an “undesirable organization.” The reason for the fine was books found during a check in the university library, published with the support of the Soros Foundation and the Institute. Kennan Center at Woodrow Wilson. These structures are included in the list of organizations whose activities are prohibited in Russia. EUSP intends to challenge the decision: the university says that the books were in a special closed fund and were not handed out.

On Wednesday, the Dzerzhinsky District Court considered two administrative cases against the European University in St. Petersburg related to participation in the activities of “undesirable organizations” (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). As Kommersant was told at EUSP, the reason was eight books published with the support of the Open Society Foundations, also known as the Soros Foundation, created by American billionaire George Soros and the Kennan Institute (a subsidiary of the Woodrow Wilson International Center). Both organizations were recognized by the Prosecutor General’s Office as undesirable in Russia in 2015 and 2022, respectively.

According to the materials in question affairs, the books were found during an unscheduled inspection of the EUSP library collection, caused by a complaint from an unknown citizen, and were seized by prosecutors. The list of prohibited items included texts about St. Petersburg museums, cultural traditions and differences between nations and globalization, orientalist Alexei Maslov’s work on the Chinese philosopher “Interpretations of the Original Meaning of Lao Tzu,” programs and methodological materials for courses in the humanities and socio-economic disciplines. The university clarifies that all these works were published no later than 2004, and were included in the EUSP library in the period from 2000 to 2009 – before acceptance 272-FZ on undesirable organizations from 2012. Later, the works were kept in a closed special fund and were not handed out. EUSP added that during the inspection, security forces also confiscated master’s graduation papers, graduate students’ dissertation topics, and other documents related to the educational process.

At the court hearing, the representative of the defendant said that the books were not removed from the electronic library, but were transferred to a closed fund: “The act stated that these books were stored in a special fund. This room was opened in the presence of a representative of the prosecutor’s office. The books were segregated from the moment they fell into this category (before the adoption of the law on undesirable organizations.— “Kommersant”). And they were not issued to any of the readers at the university.” The university representative also provided screenshots of pages on the website of the Russian National Library, where the same books are stored.

The books seized from the university library were published with the support of the Ministry of Education, the defense noted.

At the same time, the law, according to the university, deals only with books published by undesirable organizations themselves, and the works that were stored in the fund were published by Russian publishing houses only with the financial support of these organizations. Moreover, the defendant insisted, the law does not clearly explain what to do with such publications.

“From an accounting point of view, the books still remained part of the main fund, although the issuance was stopped,” said a university librarian interviewed as a witness. The works were not written off due to the lack of methodological recommendations, she continued, but since 2015, after “visual review and detection of any participation of undesirable organizations,” they were moved to a separate room: “We monitor the emergence of new organizations every three months, similar to checking the federal list of extremist organizations.” Representatives of the university added that the technical capabilities of the platform where the electronic catalog is located do not allow the publication to be labeled with another fund. The defense provided the corresponding confirmation from the creators of the site in court.

The state prosecutor insisted that the publications were listed in the electronic catalog, and the existence of a closed fund is not provided for in the library rules. The same rules indicate that readers can obtain any books from the EUSP general fund.

As a result, the educational institution was fined 70 thousand rubles. “The university does not agree with the decision and intends to challenge it in the manner prescribed by law,” EUSP added. It should be noted that for participation in the activities of an organization that is recognized as undesirable in Russia, or for reposting its materials, fines are imposed: for legal entities – from 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles. Repeated violation of this norm of the Code of Administrative Offenses threatens criminal prosecution under Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Polina Puchkova, Vladimir Kolodchuk, St. Petersburg