January 26, 2026

Avoiding Expulsion Through the Draft


Avoiding Expulsion Through the Draft
Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin giving a talk at the Higher School of Economics. Denis Grishkin, Wikimedia Commons.

Mediazona revealed that the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) was pressuring students with poor academic performance into signing deceitful military contracts to fight in Russia's war in Ukraine.

T-invariant obtained internal documents from HSE. On January 19, the news outlet revealed that the university's administration was offering year-long military contracts to students who were on the verge of being expelled for poor academic performance. The students would then be sent off to fight in Ukraine. Recruits were promised drone operator positions in the military and a leave of absence from the university. According to HSE's documents, students who chose not to renew their military contracts would be guaranteed discharge.

Artem Klyga, a human rights activist from the organization "Movement of Conscious Objectors," contacted HSE's Second Department of Administration, which handles cases of students who have been drafted. According to Klyga, the head of the office, Vladimir Krotov, denied that students were being offered a special contract. Therefore, if enlisted, students might be required to stay at the front until the end of the war.

According to Klyga, the promise that students will serve exclusively in a drone unit of the military is a lie. He claimed that students would be sent to assault units. The activist posted on his Telegram, "And in that case, HSE will not help you anymore. The state will always deceive you." 

HSE is not the first university to pressure its students into joining the Russian armed forces. Students at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology reported being pressured into signing military contracts to operate drones in Ukraine. 

You Might Also Like

Traffic-Jammed
  • January 22, 2026

Traffic-Jammed

Remote blocking has caused Porches and BMWs to stall in Russian streets. 
To Avoid Infanticide
  • January 21, 2026

To Avoid Infanticide

Russian churches are holding anti-abortion services, which will now become an annual event.
Cargo Business Breaks Down
  • January 20, 2026

Cargo Business Breaks Down

Thousands of Russian freight transport companies are facing liquidation or bankruptcy amid rising costs, falling demand, and tightening financial conditions. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955