Yaroslav Kuzminov leaves the post of HSE Rector

According to RBC, Kuzminov resigned from the post of rector and became the scientific director of the university, replacing 87-year-old Yevgeny Yasin, the former minister of economy.

“The former Minister of Economics asked to be removed from office for health reasons”, - the newspaper notes.

After his resignation, Yasin will become an honorary academic director of the Higher School of Economics.

The Higher School of Economics was founded in 1992. Kuzminov then became the youngest head of a federal university in the country. He is now 64 years old. Longer than him, the posts of rectors were held only by the heads of Moscow State University Viktor Sadovnichy and MGIMO Anatoly Torkunov.

According to Forbes, this year the Higher School of Economics again took first place in the fourth ranking of the 100 best universities in Russia. The university scored 85.78 out of a hundred points, the maximum possible according to the rating methodology, against 68.07 last year, thus strengthening its position. The second place, like last year, is taken by Moscow State University with 78.53 points. The third place is taken by the National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (74.05 points). Thus, MIPT dropped out of last year's top three, dropping to fourth place.

“The most demanded universities are technical. The top ten of the ranking includes seven technical universities, and the remaining three are broad-profile universities, but also with a strong technical focus, ”the newspaper notes.

At the same time, despite serious scientific achievements, the HSE has become a subject of serious political scandals this year. In particular, the Human Rights Center "Memorial"* (included by the Ministry of Justice in the list of foreign agents) recognized the editors of the HSE DOXA student magazine Armen Aramyan, Alla Gutnikova, Vladimir Metelkin and Natalia Tyshkevich as political prisoners. They are persecuted for their independent activities and criticism of the authorities, human rights activists believe.

"Their persecution is aimed at intimidating society and at preventing citizens, especially young people, from exercising their inalienable political rights," the organization's website says.

Human rights activists demand the immediate release of the journalists, as well as the prosecution of those who are guilty of their persecution.

In their opinion, the video, for which the editors are being prosecuted, did not call for minors to participate in the rallies. The organization demanded to stop all cases for involving minors in protests. Human rights activists called the measure of restraint chosen by the journalists “humiliating”.

We will remind, on April 14, searches were carried out in the editorial office of the newspaper. A case was opened against the journalists on the involvement of minors in illegal actions for the video in which the journalists spoke about the intimidation of students and schoolchildren on the eve of the protests in support of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. After the request of Roskomnadzor, the editors removed this video.

DOXA's harassment has been condemned by hundreds of students, educators and academics from around the world. Many students took to the streets with the symbol “We are DOXA too”. More than 100 HSE staff members and more than 250 world-renowned scientists expressed their solidarity with the accused.

* included by the Ministry of Justice in the list of foreign agents.