One of Russia¡¯s leading universities has banned its academics and students from identifying their institutional position when making public political statements, in a move seen as a further erosion of academic freedom in the country.

Critics claimed that Moscow¡¯s Higher School of Economics (HSE), known for its relatively liberal leanings, has clamped down on dissent in response to its students¡¯ involvement in anti-government protests last summer.

Despite an??against the changes,?on 25 January the HSE¡¯s academic council approved?new rules?which state that ¡°if someone is engaged in political activities, they must do so in the capacity as a private person and not a university employee or student¡±, according to a university?.

¡°These rules are formulated in such a way to censor statements by students and academics,¡± said Armen Aramyan, a PhD student and an editor at student publication?Doxa.

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The new rules mean that if academics or students want to engage in politics ¨C go on demonstrations, publicly support a politician or help with political events ¨C they are now forbidden?from identifying themselves as being affiliated to the university.

¡°In practice, this rule means that political activism is permissible only outside the university,¡± said Andrey Lavrov, the HSE¡¯s director for public relations.

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Instead, academics will be allowed to reveal their job titles only when they stick to ¡°analysis¡± ¨C in newspaper columns, for example ¨C of their own field of expertise, he explained.

The HSE has defended the changes, arguing that they have some parallels with rules at US universities.

Tufts University, for example, has a policy where faculty listed as supporters of a politician or policy ¡°should be without mention of institutional affiliation, or with a disclaimer indicating that their actions and statements are their own and not those of the university¡±.

Yaroslav Kuzminov, the HSE¡¯s rector, has??that academics and students ¡°should behave in a way that is not harmful to the university¡±.

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¡°That¡¯s why our professional opinions should sound more like those of professors speaking rather than like kitchen arguments, which is not uncommon on the internet,¡± he argued, defending the changes.

But critics saw the restrictions as an ¡°act of reprisal¡± for HSE students¡¯ involvement in protests last summer against the exclusion of opposition candidates from Moscow city elections, at which police arrested more than 1,000 demonstrators.

One HSE student with a huge social media following, Yegor Zhukov, was arrested and faced criminal charges, but avoided jail after a court ruling in December.

His arrest had sparked widespread dissent among HSE staff and students, said Mr Aramyan, and the university likely wanted to send a signal that it was ¡°out of politics¡± to avoid a crackdown by the authorities.

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Asked why rule changes were being made now, Mr Lavrov said: ¡°We are continually refining our rules; we do this every year, and sometimes more often.¡±

The new regulations also change the status of student media organisations, which?Mr Aramyan?said will deprive them of funding, and access to university equipment and facilities.

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david.matthews@timeshighereducation.com