Smolny Beyond Borders Enrolls 700 Students as Smolny College Shutters Its Liberal Arts Program, Times Higher Education Reports

Efforts to revive Russian liberal arts and interdisciplinary education outside the country’s borders are growing even as Smolny College in Saint Petersburg announced the end of its liberal arts program, which will be replaced by a new curriculum designed to comply with accreditation standards of the Russian Federation. Scholars see this move as part of the Russian government’s intensifying crackdown on dissent and “the death knell for a once promising form of education in the country,” writes Pola Lem for Times Higher Education. “But although there appears to be little hope for liberal arts in Russia, there are efforts to revive the discipline outside its borders.” Created in November 2022 by recent faculty members of Smolny and other liberal arts programs for students who left Russia and countries of Eurasia due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the declining educational situation in those countries, Smolny Beyond Borders (SBB) has seen an increase in classes and enrollment to 700 students this year. This year SBB is offering 35 liberal arts courses, many with Bard College credit and mostly taught online by former Smolny professors. SBB is sponsored by the Gagarin Center for the Study of Civil Society and Human Rights (Gagarin Center at Bard College).  

Post Date: 09-05-2023