MOSCOW: Russia has officially designated Yale University as an “undesirable organisation,“ according to authorities. The decision, announced on Tuesday, is part of the Kremlin’s ongoing crackdown on perceived critics, which has intensified since Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
The “undesirable” label effectively prohibits the university from operating within Russia and exposes individuals collaborating with it to potential legal consequences. The prosecutor general’s office stated that Yale’s activities were aimed at “violating territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, imposing an international blockade on the state and undermining its economic foundations.”
Specific scrutiny was directed at Yale’s School of Global Affairs, which prosecutors accused of training opposition activists to orchestrate protests in Russia. Notably, the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February 2024 under disputed circumstances, was among the school’s former fellows.
Yale now joins a growing list of international organisations blacklisted by Moscow, including Amnesty International, the British Council, Greenpeace, and Elton John’s AIDS Foundation. Independent media outlets like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Meduza have also faced similar restrictions. - AFP
