BASEES Statement on the designation of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Osteuropakunde (DGO) as an ‘undesirable organisation’ by the Russian Ministry of Justice

On 14th February 2024, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation added the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Osteuropakunde (DGO) – the largest learned society in the German-speaking world for Eastern European studies – to its list of ‘undesirable organisations’. This designation prohibits the DGO from undertaking any activities within Russia and criminalises any engagement with it by Russian citizens. This move is a direct response to the DGO's longstanding pivotal work in supporting and disseminating critical research and analysis that challenges the narratives promoted by the Russian government.

The British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES) wishes to express its strongest solidarity with the DGO in the face of this blatant attack on academic freedom by the Russian government.

The BASEES Executive Committee