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© 2025 Freedom Degree
Freedom Degree, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. © 2025 | Powered by Strapi
Jul 11, 2025
A critical look at the academic environment in Russia and Europe
About Me
I am a journalist and activist. I am currently working on my PhD at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, which is part of Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. It is a classic German university, fairly large — something like an analogue of MSU or St. Petersburg State University in Russia, to make it easier to understand.
My research lies at the intersection of history, anthropology, and economics. I write about environmental policy and environmental solutions that were developed in Soviet “academic towns” from the 1980s up to the present day. I also study how approaches to environmental policy have changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. I would like to continue my research work in Russia and return there.
About Studying in Russia and Europe
The academic job market in Europe is “overheated.” In addition, recent reforms impose an obligation on postdocs to find a permanent position within three years. There is enormous competition for positions among postdocs. In Germany, the chances of staying are slim, and I am not sure that I want that anyway. In Russia, the situation is different. There is an obvious shortage of academic personnel. But at the same time, there are clear censorship restrictions, and security services are trying to control what happens in science and universities. In general, after obtaining my PhD, I would like to work and teach, and write research texts if possible. Much depends on the risks and the political situation in Russia.
As for my previous experience: first I studied at the Faculty of Political Science at the Higher School of Economics in Russia, but dropped out. Then I completed a specialist degree in religious studies at the Faculty of Philosophy at Moscow State University, enrolled in graduate school, and also did not finish it. After that, I entered a PhD program in Germany.
In Russia, there are huge problems with funding for education; graduate students are paid very little. There is some support system at the Higher School of Economics, and it is possible to survive on it. In technical fields, the situation may be different. Research institutes train graduate students; sometimes they can simultaneously work on projects and receive collective grants (for example, for laboratory work). In some places, there are contracts with enterprises. Again, it turns out that the academic work itself — your dissertation — remains somewhere on the sidelines of all these activities. This also happens in Europe, but there are still far more opportunities to obtain decent funding for a dissertation.
The educational community itself is also structured differently in Europe. Students have more opportunities for self-organization, whereas in Russia students have little say in university life. I also have the impression that it is somewhat easier to defend a dissertation here than in Russia. The system is more flexible.
About Life and Study in Germany
My decision to move to Munich to study was rather spontaneous; I can’t say that I had any specific expectations. I am more observing what is happening. In Russia, my journalistic work “collapsed,” and I urgently needed to decide what to do next. And so here I am, in Germany. Overall, I do not have very positive impressions of academia as a field of activity. I think it is in crisis worldwide for many reasons, largely due to underfunding. Academia is becoming something like a pastime for people who have the means not to worry about earning money for their education.
If we talk about difficulties on my academic path, I did not understand the admissions mechanisms at all. Here, connections, networking, and the ability to meet the right people matter a great deal—finding common ground, explaining what you want to do so that they agree to become your supervisors.
Germany also has major problems with bureaucracy. The system is very opaque. It is unclear where and which documents to submit, and no one can properly explain it to you. You constantly have to resend emails to the university administration, remind them of things. Frankly speaking, this is exhausting.
At the same time, life in Munich is quite pleasant. It is a calm, bourgeois little city—not Berlin at all—and that has its pros and cons. The city is very green; there is a river with landscaped banks, and everything around the river also resembles a large park. The city is fairly well designed; you can easily and quickly get to any place you need. A typical story here is that nothing works on Sundays, and on other days shops close early. For some time this was stressful, but now much less so—you just have to adapt to it.
What is really bad is housing—it is very expensive and very difficult to find. Everyone is constantly living in sublets (short-term re-renting of someone else’s apartment). We moved 9 times (!) before finding permanent housing, and that turned out to be more a matter of luck, because one of the sublets became our permanent rental apartment.
There are cultural differences as well. Local food does not particularly impress me. I would even say that there are few places here where you can spend time in an interesting way. There are good museums, exhibitions, concerts, and various events, but the city itself feels rather “sleepy.” This is, of course, compounded by the familiar immigrant problems with bureaucracy and documents. You need to obtain them, renew them, and come up with a strategy for what to do next. If you are not a typical IT specialist with a salary of 5–7 thousand euros, it will be difficult for you everywhere with this bureaucracy. It is even harder for those who moved to Germany on humanitarian documents. It is hard to find housing, and even harder to find permanent work here.
About Plans for the Future
There are no concrete plans yet, other than the need to finish my dissertation—that is my main plan for the future. As I have already mentioned, I would prefer to return to Russia in the future and try to work there. In Europe, I simply do not see many opportunities. Honestly, it is difficult to make any plans beyond the very nearest goals.