Working in academia under authoritarian rule: The new reality of professional life at Russian universities
Journal: Berliner Journal für Soziologie
Year: 2025

Abstract Using a sample of qualitative narrative interviews conducted in 2023 with scholars employed at Russian universities, the study examines how working conditions in higher education have changed following the full invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The analysis reveals that the growing politicization of higher education has triggered profound institutional and noninstitutional changes: scholars now work in an atmosphere of deepening mistrust and heightened risk, face arbitrary political pressure