University Walks Back Decision to Postpone Teaching Dostoevsky Over Russian Invasion

Portrait of the writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, by Vasily Perov, oil on canvas, 1872, the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia. Public Domain

An Italian university reversed course on a decision to postpone a course on 19-century Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week.

Paoli Nori, a writer who had been asked by the University of Milano-Bicocca to voluntarily teach a four-session course on the author, took to Instagram in an emotional video after he was told in an email that his classes had been postponed.

“Dear Professor, the Vice Rector for Didactics has informed me of a decision taken with the rector to postpone the course on Dostoevsky,” the email from university officials read, according to the Italian writer’s Instagram video, according to a translation by Newsweek.

The university allegedly told Nori on March 2 that they chose to postpone his course “to avoid any controversy, especially internally, during a time of strong tensions,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion against Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.

Nori said the classes were set to start on March 9.

“They invited me. Each lesson was 90-minutes long. They were free and open to everyone,” he said.

He branded the decision as “ridiculous” and “unbelievable.”

“I realize what is happening in Ukraine is horrible, and I feel like crying just thinking about it,” Nori continued.

“Not only is being a living Russian wrong in Italy today, but also being a dead Russian, who was sentenced to death in 1849 because he read a forbidden thing. That an Italian university would ban a course on an author like Dostoevsky is unbelievable,” he said.

The university’s decision quickly prompted backlash, including from Italy’s former prime minister Matteo Renzi, who called the move “insane” in a Twitter post.

He suggested that those who made the call to postpone Nori’s class were “incapable bureaucrats.”

The university in Milan swiftly backtracked on the decision, and issued a statement saying that university officials will meet with Nori next week “for a moment of reflection.”

“The University of Milano-Bicocca is a university open to dialogue and listening even in this very difficult period that sees us dismayed at the escalation of the conflict,” it said.

“The course of the writer Paolo Nori is part of the writing course aimed at students and citizens who aim to develop transversal skills through forms of writing. The university confirms that this course will take place in the established groups and will deal with the contents already agreed with the writer,” the statement said. 

The Epoch Times has contacted the University of Milano-Bicocca for comment.