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Open Letter in Support of the Creation of a Belarusian Research University and Its Registration in a European Union Country

We, representatives of the international academic and civic community, support the aspirations of the Belarusian people in their struggle for democracy and human rights, so powerfully demonstrated during the 2020 presidential elections. We consider it essential to support the intention of representatives of the Belarusian academic community, as well as civil society structures and democratic forces standing alongside them, in their conviction of the urgent importance of establishing and registering a Belarusian National Research University within the European Union.

At present, conditions in Belarus are entirely unfavorable for the development of education and culture. The жестокий dictatorial regime not only bans independent educational institutions, shamefully destroys academic freedoms, and dismisses representatives of Belarusian education and science who oppose the policies pursued by the authoritarian authorities — without any possibility of returning to their professions — but also promotes large-scale Russification and colonization of the Belarusian nation, advancing the ideology of the “Russian world.”

Today, around 50 higher education institutions officially operate in Belarus, yet none of them provide education in Belarusian, the titular language of the nation; instruction is conducted exclusively in Russian. In primary and secondary education, only 10% of Belarusian children have the opportunity to study in their native language. Ideological control, militarization of education, and political censorship dominate the Belarusian educational sphere. Hundreds and thousands of highly qualified specialists cannot freely engage in research and teaching within the country and are forced to leave Belarus because of persecution and violence.

At the same time, Belarusians as a nation deserve the opportunity for their academic community to conduct rich scholarly and educational work in their own language, as well as in the languages of the world. A free and democratic Belarus requires the creation of a strong academic and research center capable of carrying out important studies across multiple disciplines, as well as a center for Belarusian studies that goes beyond Russian-centered frameworks. It also requires a center for training future specialists — master’s and doctoral students — in key scientific fields, especially within the social sciences and humanities, which are most vulnerable to censorship and repression. The establishment of a national research university and the expansion of knowledge about Belarus will contribute to the decolonization of perceptions of the post-Soviet space and will benefit Western academic and expert communities alike.

We, the undersigned, believe that the free dissemination of knowledge, the absence of ideological restrictions on scientific research, and the right of a nation to education in its native language are fundamental elements of human and societal development. Therefore, we support the creation and registration of the Belarusian National Research University within the European Union and call upon politicians of EU countries, as well as relevant foundations and institutions, to closely cooperate with the founding team on the establishment and financial support of this project.

The letter was signed by:

  • Svetlana Alexievich — writer, recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature.
  • Marci Shore — Professor of History, Yale University.
  • Jason Stanley — Professor of Philosophy (Jacob Urowsky Chair), Yale University.
  • Anika Walke — Georgie W. Lewis Career Development Professor, Associate Professor of History and of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies, Washington University in St. Louis.
  • Stefan Eriksson — former Ambassador of Sweden to Belarus.
  • Andrzej Leder — Professor, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences.
  • Viktoras Bachmetjevas — Associate Professor, Vytautas Magnus University.
  • Andrzej Gniazdowski — Habilitated Doctor, Professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences.
  • David Marples — Distinguished Professor, University of Alberta.
  • Pavel Tereshkovich — Director of the Belarusian Association of Education and Science.
  • Dr. Diana Siebert — Doctor of Sciences, University of Giessen.
  • Krzysztof Czyżewski — President of the Borderland Foundation.
  • Andrei Vardomatski — Habilitated Doctor in Sociology, independent sociologist.
  • Prof. Victor Shadurski — Professor, University of Wrocław.
  • Olga Shparaga — philosopher, PhD, affiliated researcher at the Research Center for the History of Transformations (RECET, Vienna).
  • Yevhen Mahda — Doctor of Sciences, National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.”
  • Lizaveta Dubinka-Hushcha — Regional Director of the Danish Cultural Institute in the Baltic States.
  • Ivonka Survilla — President of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in exile.
  • Thomas Bohn — Professor of East European History, Justus Liebig University Giessen.
  • Steve Fuller — Auguste Comte Chair in Social Epistemology, University of Warwick.
  • Curt Woolhiser — Lecturer in Russian and Slavic Linguistics, Boston College.
  • Natallia Pinchuk — wife of Ales Bialiatski.
  • Adam Michnik — Editor-in-Chief of Gazeta Wyborcza.
  • Prof. Yaroslav Hrytsak — Professor, Ukrainian Catholic University.
  • Yevhen Bystrytsky — Leading Research Fellow and Professor, Institute of Philosophy, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
  • Pavel Barkouski — Doctor of Philosophy, Professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences.
  • Alina Koushyk — Representative for National Revival of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus.
  • Timafej Padvicki — Research Fellow, University of Cologne.
  • Adrian Jusupović — Professor, Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences.
  • Henadz Korshunau — Candidate of Sociological Sciences (PhD), Senior Research Fellow at the Center for New Ideas.
  • Siarhei Papou — psychoanalyst, psychiatrist.
  • Dzianis Kandakou — Doctor of Sciences (PhD), ENSTA Paris / Sorbonne Nouvelle.
  • Adam Danilczyk — Doctor of Sciences (PhD), Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences.
  • Vladimir Arutiunian — engineer.
  • Vital Byl — Doctor of Sciences (PhD), University of Bonn.
  • Sviatlana Liasovich — Associate Professor, Candidate of Philological Sciences (Belarusian language), independent researcher.
  • Katarzyna Waszczyńska — researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Warsaw (IEiAK UW).
  • Aliaksandr Papko — journalist and political scientist, Belsat TV / University of Warsaw.
  • Marina Shapturenko — Doctor of Biological Sciences, biologist, Anklam, Germany.
  • Andrei Radaman — doctoral researcher, University of Białystok.
  • Tatsiana Astrouskaya — Doctor of Sciences, researcher and lecturer, Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe and University of Giessen.
  • Iskra Schwarcz — Professor, Doctor of Sciences, University of Vienna.
  • Anna Engelking — Habilitated Doctor, Professor at the Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences.
  • Karol Łopatecki — Habilitated Doctor, Professor, Faculty of International Relations, University of Białystok.
  • Andruś Asmykovič — translator from German, English, and Belarusian.
  • Michał Zwierzykowski — Professor, Habilitated Doctor, Department of History, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
  • Mikalai Paulovich — local historian.
  • Marek Ferenc — Doctor of Sciences (PhD), Professor at Jagiellonian University.
  • Dzmitry Nikanovich — Doctor of Sciences (PhD), independent media researcher.
  • Tatsiana Espevig — Research Fellow, Doctor of Sciences (PhD), Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research.
  • Karin Friedrich — Professor, Doctor of Sciences, University of Aberdeen.
  • Oleh Odnorozhenko — Habilitated Doctor in History, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Ukrainian Archeography.
  • Gabriel Wolanski — student.
  • Slawomir Sierakowski — Chairman of the Program Council of the Impact CEE conference, head of Krytyka Polityczna.
  • Leonid Timoshenko — Professor, Ukraine.
  • Alla Kozhinowa — Habilitated Doctor, Professor at the Institute of Polish Language, Polish Academy of Sciences.
  • Tomasz Kempa — Professor, Institute of History and Archival Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.
  • Uladzimir Shcherbau — human rights expert.
  • Katja Artsiomenka — Professor, Doctor of Sciences, Cologne University of Applied Sciences.
  • Ekaterina Pierson-Lyzhina — Visiting Lecturer, Free University of Brussels.
  • Zina Gimpelevich — Professor Emerita, University of Waterloo, Canada.
  • Janina-Elżbieta Smułkowa — Habilitated Doctor, Professor, University of Warsaw (retired).
  • Andreas Beyer — Professor, Doctor of Sciences, University of Cologne.