The University of Coimbra fired the director of the Center for Russian Studies

The University of Coimbra fired professor and director of the Center for Russian Studies Vladimir Pleasov after he was convinced that the activity of this unit “goes beyond” teaching, it was announced this Wednesday.

“When checking that the teaching activities of the aforementioned Center for Russian Studies go beyond this [ensino exclusivo de língua e literatura russa]the rector has decided to immediately terminate communication with Professor Vladimir Plyasov, ”the University of Coimbra (UC) said in a statement on Wednesday in an explanatory note sent to the Lusa agency.

The confirmation of the resignation was first put forward by Radio Renascença after accusing Ukrainians Olga Filipova and Vyacheslav Medvedev living in Coimbra in an opinion piece published in Jornal de Proença.

The two complainants accuse Vladimir Plyasov of “Russian propaganda” at the University of Coimbra and of being the main representative in Portugal of the Russkiy Mir Foundation (an institution created by Vladimir Putin and supported by the Russian government that supported the creation of this training center and the main task which is the popularization of the Russian language and culture).

Two “activists” accuse the director of using symbols associated with the invasion of Ukraine, for example, St. photographs of young people with letters stating that they are from “Southern Ukraine” or “Donetsk People’s Republic” as “separate and valid geographical features”, emphasizing that Ukraine does not appear in these photographs as a “UN country”.

According to the University of Coimbra, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the institution cut off contact with the Russkiy Mir Foundation, “which until December 2021 supported the teaching of the Russian language and culture at the Russian Studies Center of the Faculty of Literature.” .

“Out of respect for the people and culture of Russia, after the termination of this contractual relationship, the specified Center for Russian Studies was left at the expense of the UC’s own funds for the exclusive teaching of the Russian language and literature,” he explained. .

In the same explanatory note sent to Lusa, the University of Coimbra states that it is “an institution deeply committed to European values ​​and fully supporting Ukraine in the context of Russian aggression.”

“The UC has unequivocally condemned and continues to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And from February 24, 2022, it is associated with initiatives to collect financial donations to support displaced people and war refugees, provided the university stadium and its resources to support civil societies in the reception of those who arrived in Coimbra, the integration of refugee students into their community, for whom he taught a Portuguese language course, as well as in strengthening cooperation ties with Lviv University,” he stressed.

So far, the Lusa agency has not been able to get clarifications from Vladimir Pleasov.