Autocracy Crushed My Alma Mater. Then I Got to Columbia.

The article explores how Columbia University, under pressure from the U.S. Department of State, agreed to cancel federal grants amid concerns over anti-Semitism on campus, mirroring Russia's tactics to influence its academic community. Smolny College, a once-liberal institution that aligned with Soviet authoritarianism, lost its independence by adopting ideological policing and online courses now preserve its principles through digital platforms. Both institutions highlight how universities are increasingly complicit in authoritarian governance, as student demands for dissent face repression worldwide.