DICK-DOLLS

At a Parisian art gallery last week I saw dick-dolls, funny knitted stuffed objects shaped like penises. They were assembled in rows, each sitting upright in its little cubicle on a shelf, each in a different bright color. I remember staring at them through the closed glass door in esthetic and erotic admiration and at the same time thinking how much those provocative little creatures reminded me of us, when we were young boys and girls sitting behind the university desks. We were just as perky, just as bright and kitsch, perched behind the shabby tables, in the glass cubicles of Russia 's decaying educational environment, and nevertheless ready to conquer the world.

Of course, not all of us were dick-dolls. Some of us were perfectly gray mechanical puppets, and some were even marionettes.

Today, Moscow University 's sociological faculty students have risen against the growing corruption at the Russian capital's most renowned school. It was not even about the corruption at the notorious entrance exams, which as-a-matter-of-factly include some sort of humiliating bribe, an offering that must be made even by the parents of the smartest. (My stepfather, a highly educated man himself, had to repair a St.Petersburg University official's apartment). Years have passed since I graduated, and corruption, which used to end once you were in and officially a student, has by now penetrated all the remotest corners of Russian university life.

Moscow students protest against rude guards at the entrance to the university buildings demanding that students open their bags and present IDs, otherwise they are not even allowed into what should be their second home. They protest against the complete absence of affordable catering and many other such simple but important things. On a more significant note, they say they are concerned with the rising nationalist propaganda at the university and the spread of reading materials for extracurricular discussions of very vague relevance to science (one such lecture was on the Freemason conspiracy and the necessity for Russia to oppose the Western and Jewish oppression). The students were insistently invited to attend, one of the protesting students Oleg Zhuravliov said speaking live on Radio Free Europe on Tuesday this week.

Both students and professors are not provided timely information on the arrival of foreign lecturers in the city, or on the opportunities to study abroad. On the contrary, they are forced to use outdated and one-sided textbooks. The system attracts inexperienced, half-learned teaching staff, afraid to speak up in fear of losing their open-date contracts. Some teaching staff are not even familiar with the foreign masters of contemporary thought, such as Michel Foucault, the students complain.

The protesters are looked down at as traitors of their school. In the same radio program, another student said he did not understand the methods the protestors used and suggested they were themselves part of the Freemason conspiracy. Are you happy with the way things are going in the country in general, the presenter asked him, are you happy with Putin's regime? – I am going to abstain from answering this question, the student answered.

It's all right to believe in conspiracy theories. As long as there is place for discussion, especially among the future sociologists, political scientists and journalists. Naturally, it would be so much easier to put them in labeled boxes and only withdraw prior to a theatrical show where they will be given a role as puppets. Is that the sort of training Russian students are heading towards?

Western students are also often unhappy. Students rallies shake Europe every so many years. What makes it crucially different from Russia is that active students have a real say here. After the recent protests here in The Netherlands, the Dutch government has created a special academic committee to answer the students' needs. Happily enough, the new Dutch cabinet includes several university professors and researchers. What sort of professionals the Russian government includes is needless to remind.

Recently I tried visiting my dear faculty in St.Petersburg. What do you want? – the guard at the door asked. I have graduated from here, I replied. Well, so what do you want here now? – the guard said.