‘Only the most neutral titles’

As censorship tightens in Russia, some journalism students at St. Petersburg’s top university still find ways to write about the war

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, the Kremlin has intensified its crackdown on independent media and tightened censorship across the country. Nevertheless, some Russian journalism students are still managing to write about the war, protests, and “foreign agents” in their theses. The St. Petersburg outlet Bumaga investigated how the war has influenced the topics students choose for their research, how they and their academic advisors navigate censorship, and the risks students face defending their theses before committee members who have helped put anti-war activists behind bars. Meduza shares an abridged English-language version of the outlet’s reporting.

Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years go, St. Petersburg State University (SPbGU) has fired dozens of professors for allegedly showing disloyalty to the Kremlin and has regularly expelled students who’ve spoken out against the war. Even so, some journalism students have managed to write about topics that would appear to be off-limits.

Back in 2021–2022, more thesis titles mentioned Ukraine compared to the years that followed. According to the SPbGU thesis archive, bachelor’s students during that period wrote about information warfare between Russia and Ukraine and war reporting from Donbas, while master’s students examined civil solidarity narratives in Ukrainian political journalism.

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A 2022 graduate, who requested anonymity, said many students in his class chose their topics before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and didn’t change them afterward. The following year saw the first theses on pro-Kremlin Telegram “war correspondents” and the substitution of the word “war” with “[Roskomnadzor].” By 2024, students were writing about stress among war correspondents and trends in “Russophobia” and masculinity.

“Generally, we go for more neutral topics. But there were a few pertinent ones: one woman examined the concept of ‘cancel culture,’ another looked at masculinity. They linked these to the ‘special [military] operation,’ subtly arguing that the cult of masculinity is valued during wartime and that Russia is being canceled in Western media, while our media are canceling our own artists,” comments Daria, a 2024 graduate. However, not many students choose to write directly about the war and its consequences.

“There aren’t many topics on the ‘special military operation’ — from an academic perspective, it’s a very new phenomenon. In a few years, it’ll be possible to objectively analyze its impact on journalism,” says Yana, another graduate.

‘Neutral topics’

Students aren’t outright forbidden from choosing topics related to the Russian opposition and anti-war agendas, but they’re subtly warned that it could lead to problems. Bumaga spoke with eight students who graduated between 2022 and 2024, and most of them said they weren’t directly prohibited from choosing certain topics. However, some were encouraged to pick more neutral subjects, especially if they wanted to analyze protests or opposition leaders.

“I remember telling my advisor in the summer that I wanted to focus on anti-war posters and leaflets,” recalls Anastasia, a 2023 graduate. “We ended up taking it down a notch and decided to look at posters from recent pre-war protests instead. Then came the dismissals and expulsions from the college, and we shifted to analyzing historical protest leaflets.”

Anastasia says she wasn’t directly prohibited from going with her original topic, but she was told something like: “I understand you want to write about this, and I’d be happy to supervise such work. But do you want to graduate?”

“My friend wanted to study how political figures manage their social media accounts and initially chose opposition figures, but was advised against it,” another recent graduate shared. “In the end, he chose [Ekaterina] Mizulina.”

In 2022, when media outlets and individuals first started being widely labeled as “foreign agents,” students chose topics like analyzing the presentation style of these outlets, comparing the Russian “foreign agent” law with the American one, and examining the practices of journalists labeled as “foreign agents.” That year, one graduate presented a thesis on the “problems of journalistic freedom” in contemporary Russia.

“In our year, there weren’t many controversial topics, but even neutral ones mentioned ‘foreign agents,’ the Anti-Corruption Foundation, and [Alexey] Navalny. The main issue was how to label them,” says a 2022 graduate.

Self-censorship 101

In 2024, journalism students are still able to analyze publications by media labeled as “foreign agents.” Graduates say that this year, there are still works analyzing material from Meduza, Dozhd (TV Rain), and Bumaga, as well as those that reference cultural and political figures who’ve been added to the “foreign agent” list.

However, sources told Bumaga that “foreign agents” can no longer be mentioned in thesis titles. “This is to ensure that only the most neutral titles appear on the site,” notes a 2024 master’s graduate.

“My classmates wrote papers analyzing Bumaga and Meduza, as well as other outlets. Both were asked why they didn’t choose other publications, meaning you have to justify why you’re using ‘foreign agents,’” adds Daria, a bachelor’s graduate. “Nowadays, people don’t choose topics mentioning Navalny or directly study [Yuri] Dud, [Irina] Shikhman, [and other ‘foreign agents’].”

Daria notes that self-censorship is also common among students. “After four or five years of studying journalism, you come to understand that presenting such a topic at your defense might not be the best idea,” she explains.

These concerns are not unfounded. In the more than two years since the war in Ukraine began, SPbGU has parted ways with dozens of professors and students for allegedly showing disloyalty to the regime or expressing anti-war views. Moreover, some of the “experts” who review theses at SPbGU’s journalism department have testified in court cases involving “disinformation” about the Russian army. For instance, Anastasia Grishanina and Alla Tepliashina, who co-authored linguistic reports that led to activists being imprisoned, serve as academic advisors and thesis reviewers at the college.

Last year, during their graduation ceremony, students from SPbGU’s journalism department staged a protest in support of Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Milashina, who had been severely beaten in Chechnya shortly before. One of the protesters, Elizaveta Antonova, was later denied admission to the college’s master’s program.

Reporting by Ekaterina Barkalova for Bumaga