Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan are no longer immune to neoliberal discourses and reforms, introducing market-oriented practices in the sector of public education. Among the local stakeholders, these reforms are generally associated with the lowering of the quality of education and further widening of social inequalities. While these reforms directly target children and youth as the major recipients of educational services, there is no research on how youth representatives themselves understand, conceptualize, and act upon the newly introduced privatization reforms. This presentation fills in this gap through the critical discourse analysis of videos, social media, and newspaper articles about youth protests against privatization of public education. The presentation captures the opinions and activities of youth in three different settings and compares them to the official policy rhetoric on privatization in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Russia. Although youth become increasingly mobilized to protest against privatization reforms, it is unclear how much influence these protests will have on governments' privatization agenda.

1. “Learn, Learn, and Once Again Learn! For Free, for Free, for Free!”
Youth Protests Against Privatization Reforms in Post-Soviet Education
Iveta Silova, Viktoriia Brezheniuk, Marina Kudasova, Olga Mun, Nikolai Artemev
College of Education, Lehigh University

2. Youth protests around the world

3. Milestones of privatization reforms
 establishment of private universities
 introduction of “private seats”
in the public higher education institutions
 commercialization of educational
services
 commitment to the
Bologna declaration
principles

4. Research questions and methods
 What are students protesting against in Latvia, Russia, and
Ukraine?
 How do images and discourses construct youth protests in mass
media, government rhetoric, and academic research?
Money rules the world No to reforms

5. Data Sources
• YouTube videos, newspaper articles, academic publications on
Latvia, Russia, Ukraine
• Total of 350 images of posters and slogans, including 100 in
Russia, 90 in Ukraine, and 160 in Latvia

6. Sample:
youth protests 2009-2012
Criteria/
Country
Ukraine (12) Russia (12) Latvia (6)
Location Large cities,
simultaneous protests
at multiple locations
Large cities,
geographically
diverse
Primarily Riga
Organizers
and
participants
“Direct Action,”
“Vidsich,”
“Svidomo,”
“Edinstvo,” Ukrainian
Association of Student
Governance, High
school students,
teachers, parents. No
affiliation with
political parties.
Student
organizations,
parents’ movements,
NGOs, political
parties
Latvian Student
Union, student
organizations from
the University of
Latvia, Riga
Technical
University, Latvian
Academy of
Culture, Latvian
Academy of Arts,
professors
Number of
participants
100-1000 Average 100 (10-
1000)
50-5000

7. Findings
Slogan Theme Example
Youth as activists and agents of
change
“Rebel! Love! Do not give away your rights!”
The right to free and quality
education
“Free education for everyone”
Stopping reforms, saving schools “Let's save schools! Let's protect our children!”
Knowledge/education as a
commodity
“Don't convert education into service!”
Degradation of or danger to
society, education, and culture
“Latvia’s future - darkness and poverty”
Critique of policy makers and the
government
“Get out, ministers! Get out, capitalists!”
Threat of immigration “Ireland, English, Norway - our future!”
Other “Donate to state budget”

8. Education is not a commodity, it is a right
Knowledge is not a commodity
Education is not a business, a service, or a luxury-it is
a right (Russia, 2010)
Mom is a milkmaid, father is a tractor driver. Who is
going to pay for education? (Ukraine, 2011)
We have a better chance of winning by gambling than
by getting into the budget (state-financed) group!
(Latvia, 2009)

9. Neoliberal education reforms as degradation and death:
Let’s stop the reforms and save schools
Cut?
Ukrainian education: we remember
and miss
Russia is in
danger! Off
criminal reforms!
New law on education: before -a person, after-
a monkey.
School of the future - ticket to "ZH“ (Russia, 2010)
Let’s save our children! (Russia, 2012)
Stability overcome, ruin achieved (Ukraine, 2012)
Stop abuse! (Ukraine, 2012)
OMG, they killed higher education! (Latvia, 2009)
For reform, not deform! (Latvia, 2012)

10. “Funeral” of Latvian Education
The future without education is the same as putting on
plastic bag over your head and stop breathing (2012)
The head and hands will be cut next (2011)
RIP [Rest in Peace] Higher Education (2009)

11. Threat of immigration (Latvia)
43% less money to education, 43% less residents in Latvia
There won’t be enough space in Ireland for everyone (2009)
Ireland, England, Norway - our future (2009)
Universities are closed, students are away, Latvia is empty (2012)

12. Critique of politicians and policymakers
Why not
condemn
those who
destroyed our
country?
(2009)
Killers of the
future!
(2009)
The skinnier
the student,
the fatter the
deputy
(2009)

13. Bloodsuckers of student
scholarships (2012)
Tabachnik to prison, then we will
go to class! (2011)
Education for Azarov is like a
woman for a deadman (2011)
Money to universities, and not for
toys for the president (2011)
3 incompletes- out of the ministry!
Azarov, do not drink students’
blood
Deputies are parasites, they do not let students live

14. Fursenko’s grade book. Exam: fail
Fursenko to the blackboard Save on education- go bankrupt on prisons
Are you still receiving scholarships? Then we
are coming to you!
Russian officials are reforming our system of education and sending their children to
study abroad (2011)

15. Students as agents of change
Student! Fight for your rights!
Granite of science is also a brick
We want radical changes!!!
Leave the little things
to yourselves!
Hands off from Moscow universities
Student is ready to fight,
our world is not for sale
(Russia, 2010)
Rebel! Love! Do not give
away your rights
(Ukraine, 2011)
Students are power!
(Latvia, 2009)

16. Portrayal of Protests by Mass Media,
Government Officials, and Academic research
 Ignoring
 Dismissing youth protests as insignificant
Students only interested in showing off
Protesters as deviants, lonely, or immature
Disorganized and uninformed
Manipulated by others for political purposes

17. Students as deviants, lonely, immature
“Membership in youth movements may be largely due to a desire to overcome
feelings of loneliness and disorientation, finding a position that would bring
comfort and communicative living, substituting the community that was left
after being admitted to the university“ (Pustoshinkaya, 2010)
Russia’s youth is referred to as “generation zero”—
generation that was socialized within new social and
economical paradigm during 2000-2009
“Maybe they started and they simply cannot stop” (head of public
initiative “Student protection,” Ukraine)

18. Students as disorganized and uninformed
"I believe that students should research first and not just come to protest.”
(representative of All-Ukrainian Student council Anastasia Sokolova)
“In order to declare a law, it is necessary to take part in the discussion, make
suggestions, and not only stand and solve problems on the street.” (Maxim
Lutskiy, Deputy from the Regional Party)
“This is not the way things are organized. I go out to the street and get
to know that you have gathered
spontaneously. It looks very weird to me.
Protests have to be organized,
have logic and be understandable
to everyone” (Rector of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy,
2010)

19. Showing off
“Protests are the outcome of the Internet discussion, but more
importantly construct a framework within which young people
attend the protests with the purpose of taking videos and
posting on the Internet to gain popularity among friends”
(Pustoshinskaya, 2010)
“To some extent, it seems fashionable for the young people today
to attend protests, to video record themselves and their friends
on Iphone on the background of the crowd and then post it on
Facebook in order to get some comments from their Facebook
friends. Especially, it seems honorable to carry their own
customized poster /banner/ installation of deliberately ironic
nature” (Homyakova, 2010)

20. Manipulated by others
 Against Ukrainophob Tabachnik
 Anti-semitism
 Against the government of Yanukovich
(*foreign sponsorship)

21. Support
• The mass media coverage of youth protests has rarely
reached any major international outlets
• Most support is very localized
“Students can stand up for their rights, and failure awaits them only in case
they do not try at all” (Indymadia Belarus)
“ The only alternative is socialism on a world scale, in which workers and
youth take control of industry and education out of the hands of
bureaucrats and capitalists and run society internationally on their own”
(International Marxist Tendency, 2010)