Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that introduces the concept of “educational activities” and brings these activities under state control. The corresponding document was published on Russia’s official legal information portal, pravo.gov.ru, on Monday, April 5.

The necessary amendments to Russia’s law “On Education” were adopted by the State Duma and Federation Council at the end of last month.

The amendments to the education law aimed at bringing public outreach under state control provoked backlash from the academic community, as well as those involved in popular education initiatives. A petition against the amendments on Change.org gathered nearly 248,000 signatures.
In early March, journalist Mikhail Rodin announced the end of his well-known radio programs on the station Govorit Moskva. According to Rodin, this came after he wrote an open letter to Putin criticizing the proposed amendments concerning educational activities.
In response to criticism of the changes, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko said that “they can be interpreted in different ways and very broadly.”

Putin signs legislation bringing ‘educational activities’ under state control