Mykhailo Minakov, Kyiv, Ukraine (University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy / Foundation for Good Politics / Institute Krytyka) 43rd Annual ASEEES Convention, Washington, DC November 17-20, 2011 Section: Intellectual Authority and its Discontents in post-Soviet Russia, Ukraine and Belarus

1. Limits of Reason:
Modernity and University Autonomy in
the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union
and Post-Soviet Ukraine/Russia/Belarus
Mykhailo Minakov, Kyiv, Ukraine (University of Kyiv-Mohyla
Academy / Foundation for Good Politics / Institute Krytyka)
43rd Annual ASEEES Convention, Washington, DC
November 17-20, 2011
Section: Intellectual Authority and its Discontents in post-Soviet Russia, Ukraine and Belarus

2. Main Theses
• problematic Modernities in contemporary Ukraine, Russia
and Belarus are connected with specific path of their
Modernization
• transfer of modern models was one of the crucial channels for
imperial Russia’s / USSR modernization
• in imperial Russia’s / USSR cultural context, universities
played unprecedented role in political and social
modernization
• university autonomy is an institution for and a measuring
indicator of modernizational efficiency of a university
institution in Russian Empire / USSR / post-Soviet countries

3. Modernization
• dissociation with traditional way of life, including European
traditional culture
• rationalization of a life-world (in economy, society, political
sphere and science)
• universalization of norms of action
• socialization that formats abstract ego-identities
• strict separation of the public and private spheres

4. Modernization
Sphere of Public
Private Realm Authority
Civil society Public sphere in the State
(realm of commodity political realm (realm of the "police")
exchange and social Public sphere in the
labor) world of letters
(clubs, press)
Conjugal family's internal (market of culture Court
space products) (courtly-noble society)
(bourgeuis intellecluals) "Town"

5. Normal and Deviant
Modernizations
Historical Modernization often viewed as
• normal: when rationalization takes place in economy, society,
political sphere and science
• deviant: when rationalization takes place in one of spheres
sharpening contradictions with the other spheres
– Sonderweg of Germany
– Chinese modernization (I in 1960-s, II – in 1990-2000-s)
– Soviet modernization

6. Modernization
and University
• Modernity in social terms is being produced by autonomous
collective agents legitimately opposing to power
– request to limit the power
– request for rational argumentation
– request for legitimacy through rational conceptualization of
authorities (rights, citizenship, political freedom etc)
• special role of a university as institute responsible for
– preservation of critical position
– knowledge production promoting disenchantment of the world
– production of Modernities’ human resources
In imperial Russia’s / USSR cultural context, universities
played unprecedented role in creating the public sphere,
i.e. political and social modernization

7. Autonomy of University
• autonomy was the key feature for university to be one of the
driving forces of social and political modernization
– public institution with no direct authority function
– driving force of rationalization of life-world with
safeguarded self-governance
• autonomy is a fundamental part of the University as idea and
as a model with long history in Europe and worldwide
• autonomy is an institutionalized practice preserving science
and education from the ‘pathological’ interference
For this presentation: university autonomy is an
indicator to measure modernizational efficiency of a
university institution in Russian Empire / USSR /
post-Soviet countries

8. Transfer of
modernity institutes
• in the non-Western contexts, transfer of development models
/ modern institutions was one of the ways of modernization
• case of the Imperial Russia:
– traditional regime: transferred models from the Eurasian
states in XV-XVII centuries
– beginning of modernization: transfer of imperial
institutions from the West in XVIII-XIX centuries
University as a model was transferred from the West
as part of the Russian Modernity toolkit

9. Transfer of University Model
into Eastern Europe
• first attempts to institutionalize a university in XVII-XVIII
centuries in the Eastern Europe failed
• successful transfer of the Western university model in the
form of a STATE University
– dominance of systemic approach
– dominance of state goals
– limited autonomy and controlled impact on the public
matters
• in spite of its limited freedom, institution of university played
critically important role in modernization of Russia

10. Specificity of University
in Russian Empire
• Paris University and Berlin University as ideal model transferred by
Russian Government
• use of universities with direct ideological nation-building goals
• integration with authority structures
• autonomy is limited, and viewed by authorities and academicians as
unnecessary
• university as an institution played a limited role in modernization of
Russian Empire
– week rationalization of political practices
– reproduction of state-minded education with no support for
development of public sphere

11. Specificity of University in USSR
• reproduction of the state-controlled model of university
education
• with all the ambivalent evolution of USSR, control over higher
education and science was only growing
• authorities recognized special role of academia by over-
controlling it and by use it for technical modernization
• Soviet modernization plans have always been self-
contradictory: technical modernization is possible along with
the social and political modernization

12. Specificity of University
in Post-Soviet Countries
• in spite of different declared goals, societies of Ukraine, Russia and
Belarus preserved political and administrative control over higher
education and academic institutes
– Ukraine:
• delayed rebirth of hybrid Soviet-capitalist tools of universities control
• week role of universities in modernization plans
– Russia:
• administrative and political control since 2005
• bigger role of universities in technical modernization plans and practices
– Belarus:
• full administrative and political control since 1998
• some role of universities in technical modernization
• universities lost their modernization role in stabilized political
regimes of the Eastern Europe

13. Specificity of University
in The Eastern Europe
• state provides universities with limited autonomy
• political regimes support dominance of rectors rule over
Academic Council with special contracts between rectors and
ministry
• universities are part of systemic corruption and shadow
economy
• universities have limited role in research; almost invisible in
global and local knowledge economies
• declining impact on social and political modernization

14. University Autonomy and
Modernization in Eastern Europe
• autonomy remains an unsolved issue in the whole region
manifesting limitations for natural supporters to
political/social modernization
• university autonomy is an indicator of social
modernization in post-Soviet countries
• problematic Modernities in contemporary Ukraine,
Russia and Belarus are connected with specific path of
their Modernization

15. Thank you!