Exploring Undergraduate Students’ Views on Academic Freedom in Russian Universities

The study explores students’ understanding of academic freedom and the scope of academic freedom limitations at Russian universities. Through 20 online in-depth semistructured interviews, the study participants, third- and fourth-year undergraduate students in social sciences at four Russian universities in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, were asked to share their perceptions and ways of exercising academic freedom. The findings show that students predominantly defined academic freedom as freedom of research, discussion, and speech. While most students reported that they enjoyed a relatively great scope of academic freedom, the study identified implicit limitations imposed by other members of the university community. Explicit limitations, such as administrative guidelines for changing research topics and avoiding discussion of sensitive subjects, were also reported in a few cases. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of academic freedom limitations in Russian higher education.