Universities are expelling students who underwent military training en masse for refusing to sig...

Universities are expelling students who underwent military training en masse for refusing to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry. They are also being required to repay the full cost of their education

Russian universities are massively expelling students from military training centers (VUTs) at universities and recovering from them the full cost of their education for refusing to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry. Vyorstka drew attention to this after studying court ruling databases.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, courts have considered at least 28 cases in different regions of Russia related to a VUT student’s refusal to sign a military contract or report to their place of service. At the same time, in at least half the cases, the text of the rulings shows that the training agreement had been signed by the student long before the full-scale invasion (often years before the war began).

Lawsuits against students were filed by Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), Ufa University of Science and Technology (UUST), the Bonch-Bruevich Saint Petersburg State University of Telecommunications, Pacific State Medical University, and other universities. The amounts sought range from several hundred thousand to more than one million rubles, depending on how many years the student had studied.

The universities justified their demands by saying that before enrolling, the students had signed targeted education agreements with the Defense Ministry, under whose terms they were required to sign a military contract after graduation. In return, the universities paid for their studies.

At least two students managed to win their cases against the universities and the Defense Ministry by convincing the courts that they had health problems.

🟪Military training centers (VUTs) are special divisions at civilian universities where students undergo military training while also receiving their main education. One can enroll in such a program by signing a targeted education agreement with the Defense Ministry.

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