Inspectors Cite 52 Violations As Cause Of University Closure

By Galina Stolyarova

Staff Writer

Published: February 22, 2008 (Issue # 1350)

Red tape is smothering civil rights and common sense in the dramatically escalating conflict between the European University and the city’s Fire Safety Inspectorate, critics say.

The Dzerzhinsky District Court on Monday has upheld its earlier decision to temporarily close down the university for fire code violations.

The management of the European University that was ordered to suspend its activities because of fire safety violations said they suspect the ruling came as a result of an organized campaign against the university.

Inspectors found 52 violations of fire safety rules during a routine annual check that was completed on Jan.18 and prompted a rapid court ruling to suspend the school’s activities. Having corrected more than 20 of the violations the university filed an appeal asking for permission to resume teaching while gradually correcting other violations, but the court ruled against the university.

“One likely scenario is that someone is interested in moving into our building, a plum historical property in the heart of St. Petersburg,” said Nikolai Vakhtin, the rector of the university at a news conference organized by the Regional Press Institute on Tuesday.

“Another possibility is that someone is looking to destabilize the political situation in St. Petersburg during the election campaign.”

Vakhtin declined to guess who could be behind the attack on the university but said such a move, if genuinely orchestrated, would be meant to target First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin’s protege.

The academics began to suspect a mastermind behind the case when they scrutinized the ruling and the list of violations in great detail and discovered what they saw as contradictions and lack of logic.

While fire inspectors complained about safety violations in a particular building, the court’s ruling has affected the teaching process itself.

The judgement calls for the “temporary suspension of activities” which makes it impossible for the management to rent out other premises as a temporary solution until the argument over the historic premises is resolved.