« It’s as though they’ve all plunged into some kind of madness, » teacher Marina Dubrova said in an interview with The New York Times Saturday.
As Russia continues to promote a fierce campaign of censorship amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, some students are turning on their teachers—and getting them fired—for speaking out. At least four teachers across the country have recently been turned in to authorities by students or parents for engaging in anti-war speech, The Washington Post reported Sunday. In some cases, students have secretly recorded instructors, who made negative comments about the invasion, before contacting the police. One teacher in western Russia, Irina Gen, was criminally investigated and forced to resign from her position after she explained to students that Ukraine is a « sovereign state, » according to the Post. Gen was answering a question about why Russia was barred from attending a European sports competition when she began criticizing the ongoing war. « So long as Russia doesn’t behave itself in a civilized way, this will go on forever, » she told students, adding that Russia « wanted to get to Kyiv, to overthrow Zelensky and the government.
