BASEES statement of solidarity with colleagues in the USA

As scholars of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian peoples and cultures—engaged in teaching and research across the humanities, arts, and social sciences—we are deeply concerned about recent attacks, and the prospect of further attacks, on academic freedom by the current US administration. Institutions of higher education and research in the USA are facing demands to abandon policies and practices which aim to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, or to suffer huge cuts to their funding. Colleagues may now find themselves in a situation where they risk losing their jobs and their research project funding; international students are having their visas arbitrarily revoked. The autonomy of US higher educational institutions is under attack, as is our colleagues’ freedom to determine what they teach and research.

It is of great concern to see that the activities of colleagues in our field are being targeted by the current US administration: pursuing greater understanding of these regions is still a crucial concern. Yet the administration has suspended funding for the Yale University investigation into the Russian abduction of Ukrainian children, as well as the current year’s $3.3 million budget for research grants that advance the study of Russian and Eastern European society, culture and politics. The Wilson Center has been stripped of all its funding beyond the statutory minimum, and Harvard’s Ukraine Institute has had its federal funding withdrawn.

BASEES stands in solidarity with colleagues in the USA who are threatened by the current US administration’s attacks on genuine scholarship, the pursuit of knowledge and understanding, academic freedom and freedom of expression. The state’s attempt to impose coercive measures on our colleagues is deplorable; in deeply troubling times we welcome our colleagues’ attempts to challenge and resist these measures.