# Russian academics who signed anti-war letter four years ago are questioned again as universities refuse to renew contracts

https://mins.news/en/item/63001

- Meduza, 2026-09-17 16:40 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/09/17/russian-academics-signed-an-anti-war-letter-four-years-ago-now-the-fsb-is-questioning-them-again-and-universities-are-refusing-to-renew-some-of-their-contracts

> The FSB and university and research-institute administrators are pressuring scholars who signed a 2022 anti-war letter and employees listed in a leaked Smart Voting database, according to T-invariant. Workers across Russia describe questioning and non-renewed contracts. At St. Petersburg State University, former employees say a blacklist labels staff politically unreliable, while some contracts were reportedly denied for that reason.