Until the middle of next week, the Ministry of Internal Affairs may indict Sergei Zuev, the rector of the Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences named after Theodor Shanin (MSSES or simply Shaninka). On October 13, the court placed him under house arrest. Investigators suspect Zuev of embezzling 21 million rubles allocated to Shaninka by the Foundation for New Forms of Education Development (FNFRO) as part of the Teacher of the Future project.
It was an integral part of the Education national project and was fully funded through the FNFRO, which was supervised by the then Deputy Minister of Education Marina Rakova, and headed by her common-law husband Artur Stetsenko. Rakov, whom the investigation considers the organizer of the embezzlement, has been in the IVS at 38 Petrovka Street for several days already. In connection with this case, some political scientists started talking about a new round of repressions against the so-called systemic liberals. About why the wine of Sergei Zuev raises doubts among experts – DW.
Rumors about FSB claims against non-state universities
“We are seriously concerned about the further development of events – both the fate of our rector and the fate of the entire university, known for the highest level of education, professional ethics, academic honesty” – Shaninka’s team signed this appeal on October 14. As stated in it, the criminal prosecution of Sergei Zuev is fraught with risks for the educational activities of the university and its “academic autonomy.”
University of Manchester
Polish-born British sociologist Theodor Shanin founded the Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences in 1995. All these years she worked closely with British universities. Many of Shaninki’s educational programs are validated by educational institutions in the United Kingdom. Thanks to this, its graduates, along with a Russian diploma, receive a bachelor’s or master’s degree from the universities of Manchester or Coventry.
In 2018, the university already faced problems – Rosobrnadzor then revoked state accreditation from Shaninka. Formally, the inspectors revealed violations in the content of academic disciplines and in the organization of practice for students. This happened against the background of a similar conflict between officials and the European University in St. Petersburg. There were various rumors about what then became the real cause of problems for two reputable private universities. The media reported that the FSB was not satisfied with their independence and close contacts with foreign universities.
Rector Shaninki: from the hospital to the isolation ward
The police came to Sergei Zuev on October 12 when he was in the hospital. There he underwent planned treatment, but he himself agreed to go for interrogation at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He never returned to the hospital. After the interrogation, Zuev was detained and left for the night until a measure of restraint was chosen in the IVS at 38 Petrovka Street. The next day, in court, a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs asked to send Zuev to a pre-trial detention center, but the judge of the Tverskoy court chose him as a measure of restraint in the form of house arrest.
The lawyer of the Shaninka rector, Sergei Sevruk, said that in the summer his client underwent heart surgery, and now he needs regular medical attention. Sevruk told DW that it is not forbidden for Zuev to call an ambulance home now, but routine assistance is “actually banned.” Together with his colleague in defense, the lawyer is trying to obtain permission from the investigators for Rector Shaninka to visit doctors in clinics.
So far, the measure of restraint in the form of house arrest can be canceled for Sergei Zuev only in one case – if he is not charged by the middle of next week. By this time, according to the lawyer, the ten-day detention period will have expired. The case itself was initiated on August 7 “on grounds of large-scale fraud against an unidentified group of persons.”
“Zuev did not touch this money”
Lawyer Sevruk explained to DW that the case involved two government contracts that Shaninka signed with the FNFRO, a structure of the Ministry of Education, which was supervised by Marina Rakova. The contracts concerned the creation of communities of teachers and the improvement of their professional skills. Shaninka began to fulfill these contracts, but they were terminated ahead of schedule by agreement of the parties. Zuev’s lawyer in a conversation with DW could not remember why this happened.
Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation
“The total amount (government contracts. – Ed.) was supposed to be about 50 million rubles, – the lawyer told reporters after the court, which passed a verdict on the measure of restraint for the rector of Shaninka. – The parties stopped cooperation when 21 million rubles were paid. Where is this money – there is no information. It is absolutely certain that Zuev did not touch this money and has nothing to do with it. “
Marina Rakova is suspected of stealing an even larger amount – more than 50 million rubles. In the case file, which DW told Sevruk, it is argued that an “unidentified group of persons” acted in a preliminary conspiracy. At the same time, Zuev and Rakova communicated with each other only once in their lives: they exchanged a couple of duty phrases at one of the videoconferences, the lawyer conveyed the words of his client. “If (criminal. – Ed.) the group consists of 5-7 people, then it is not at all necessary that everyone is familiar with each other, – Sevruk immediately makes a reservation. “They could contact through other persons.” But there were no other contacts between Zuev and Rakova, the lawyer assures.
Toxic budget ruble
Corruption is common in the Russian education system, admits Ilya Shumanov, CEO of Transparency International Russia. “A large number of criminal cases against rectors that I know were completely justified,” continues Shumanov. “There were embezzlements and confirmed information about illegal enrichment.” But in such cases, it was always about state universities, he specifies. In high-demand private education, money is treated differently, so Shumanov doubts the validity of claims against Sergei Zuev.
Ilya Shumanov
The head of the Russian branch of Transparency International sees the problem in the fact that the expertise of the Russian Academy of Education, which disputes the quality of Shaninka’s execution of state contracts, plays an important role in the case. It was the examination carried out by the Academy of Education, headed by the former boss of Rakova, ex-Minister of Education Olga Vasilyeva, that helped the Ministry of Internal Affairs to reveal the very fact of embezzlement of funds.
“For a long time there were no complaints about the work performed, and only a few years later did they appear,” Ilya Shumanov wonders. “Moreover, these claims are not considered in the course of a civil process, as it should be, but a criminal case is immediately initiated.” However, lawyer Sergei Sevruk is in no hurry to find fault with the quality of the examination.
Investigators suspect rector Shaninka of embezzling 21 million rubles
“It was not she who became a formal reason for trying to take Sergei Eduardovich into custody,” the lawyer clarified after the trial on Wednesday. “He cannot be held responsible for all his subordinates. “.
Participation in government contracts is generally a rarity for Shaninka, Shumanov notes. He found that the university had participated in such projects for the entire time of its existence, amounting to about 37 million rubles. “This is ridiculous money by the standards of a university, given that its annual revenue is more than a hundred million rubles,” emphasizes Shumanov. “This suggests that any ruble that enters a private university becomes toxic.”
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