Second-year students at North Ossetian State University in North Ossetia have initiated a petition drive. The petition is addressed to the Minister of Education and Science and demands an end to the overly intrusive promotion of military service and contracts with law enforcement agencies.
Information about the signature drive was published by the human rights project "Go to the Forest!" There is no information on whether the petition was sent to the addressee.
In the petition, the students describe pressure from the university administration, which, they say, takes the form of hints about the possible negative consequences of refusing military service and creates an atmosphere of fear. They claim that the educational process is effectively being replaced by recruitment efforts.
However, the Regional Control Center (RCC) of North Ossetia refuted the information contained in the petition, calling it false. According to the Center for Control and Information Technologies, the Ministry of Education and Science and the university administration also deny any pressure on students.
