St Petersburg University dismissed Associate Professor Mikhail Belousov, accusing him of discrediting the army

Rector of St. Petersburg State University (SPbGU) Nikolai Kropachev signed an order to dismiss Mikhail Belousov, Associate Professor at the Institute of History. The commission on the ethics of the university, after the criticism of the teacher appeared on the Telegram channels, decided that he was disseminating information discrediting the army. Mr. Belousov himself denied this.

At the end of May, Telegram channels began to distribute a screenshot of the correspondence, in which an associate professor of St Petersburg University allegedly participated. In it, a user with the same name called “a direct and open endorsement of rashism” disgusting. Information was also circulated that the teacher allegedly supported the Ukrainian army amid mourning for the student of St. Petersburg State University Fyodor Solomonov, who died in a military operation. After that, the university began testing. But even before its completion, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Konstantin Mogilevsky called the situation in a comment “RIA News” “ugly and intolerant.”

IN written explanations Mr. Belousov said that he had nothing to do with the page created on social networks on his behalf, and with the materials posted there. As follows from the message of the university, the associate professor sent an appeal to law enforcement agencies on this occasion “with a request to identify persons involved in the placement of information messages on the Internet that discredit his honor and dignity.”

The SPbU Ethics Commission decided that the materials posted on social networks are true. It is claimed that “the information has been confirmed” after verification. “Associate Professor Belousov M.S. instead of honoring the memory of our university student (the deceased Fyodor Solomonov.— “b”), to show normal human feelings, considered it appropriate to sneer at what happened, to defame the student’s memory, ”says the decision of the commission (.pdf). She considered that Mr. Belousov “could not present convincing objections.”

The rector fired Nikolai Kropachev fired Associate Professor Mikhail Belousov from June 2 with the wording: “for the commission by an employee performing educational functions of an immoral act incompatible with the continuation of this work” (.pdf).

Leonid Uvarchev