New twist in outspoken professor Zubov's dismissal

Professor Andrei Zubov, the leading historian and theologian at Moscow State Institute of International Relations who was fired last month following a critical media article on Russia's actions in Ukraine, has reportedly been temporarily reinstated after the dismissal proved to be unlawful. But he will reportedly still have to leave the institution at the end of June.

The announcement was made in statement by the institute last week and was confirmed by Zubov, who said the reinstatement order was signed by the president of the university.

It is widely believed - although denied by the institute - that Zubov's dismissal was the result of his article in Vedomosti, one of Russia's leading business papers.

In the article he compared Russia's actions in Crimea with Nazi Germany's annexation of Austria in 1938, and argued that they threatened both citizens of Ukraine and Russia.

Last week Zubov said the decision of Moscow State Institute of International Relations, or MGIMO - which trains some 70% of diplomats employed by the foreign ministry under which it falls - was found to be unlawful because he was a member of a precinct election commission with a deciding vote.

The precinct election commission is a territorial body of Russia's federal election commission, which is charged with overseeing the implementation of election procedures. Zubov is a member of the election commission of the Khamovniki district of Moscow.

Under Russian law, a person can reportedly not be fired from his or her main place of work while serving in this position. Zubov's contract with the commission will expire on 30 June and, he said, it would not be extended. After that, his dismissal from the university will take effect.

Disquiet over Zubov's firing

There has been disquiet in academic circles following the dismissal of Zubov, a graduate of MGIMO and respected historian, theologian and political scientist who also heads the history of religions department at Saint John Russian Orthodox University.

Student protests were held near the institute's main building, and a petition in support of the professor collected 13,000 signatures.

According to a report published on the institute's website, Zubov "knowingly and repeatedly" violated the university charter, its internal regulations and its principles of corporate conduct, which are determined by departmental affiliation to Russia's Foreign Ministry.

Zubov said last month he did not believe the institute had initiated the dismissal, even though it had previously "scolded" him for writing controversial articles. He believes the order came from "pressure of higher authorities".

On 8 April Yekaterina Kravtsova of The Moscow Times wrote that the university - one of Russia's elite academic institutions that trains future government leaders and civil servants as well as business people, journalists and intellectuals - appeared to have been polarised by Russia's actions in Ukraine and its image could be at risk.

"The dissension at the university in some ways reflects a larger split within Russia's elites regarding the annexation of Crimea, even within government circles," Kravtsova wrote.

"Those with nationalist and conservative views have come out almost universally in favour of the move, while some liberals and economic officials have opposed it or at least viewed it with scepticism."

Kravtsova reported that one lecturer had decided to leave the institute in Zubov's wake. Elina Kolesnikova resigned the day after Zubov was dismissed and wrote on Facebook that she had immediately been cold-shouldered by some colleagues.

"Kolesnikova hinted that the decision was long overdue. 'Academic liberty has been severely violated,' she wrote in an article for The New Times. 'The situation is similar to that in the army. Everyone must implement orders and no one can disobey'," according to Kravtsova in The Moscow Times report.

Russian analysts have expressed concern that Zubov's dismissal may signal a tightening of control over university administrations and research institutes.

Recently the administration of Sakhalin State University, in the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, fired Alexander Konkov, one of Russia's leading sociologists, after he issued statements about Crimea.

And last month Russian police seized all copies of the latest issue of Modern Kalmykia, one of the leading business papers in the Kalmykia, which had published the article by Vladimir Gorbatenko, a well-known Ukranian professor, in which he said developments in Ukraine did not pose any threat to the Russian-speaking population in Crimea.