March 11, 2026

More Undesirables


More Undesirables
UC Berkeley. University of California, Berkeley

The Russian Justice Ministry’s list of “undesirable” organizations continues to grow with each passing month. Two of the newest additions include the University of California Berkeley and the Russian-American Science Association (RASA).

As undesirable organizations, they will be effectively banned from operating in Russia. ​Affiliation with undesirable organizations carries a substantial penalty, and individuals who cooperate or are associated with them may face a fine or up to four years in prison. Organizers of related activities may be sentenced to up to six years.

​The designations were approved by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office in February, but the organizations’ names were only made public on March 3. No official comment has been issued by the Office as to why RASA and UC Berkeley were added.

RASA is a network of Russian-speaking scientists and scholars working in the United States and other countries. It was founded to encourage collaboration, professional development, and scientific exchange between researchers in Russia and the United States. Several individual members of RASA are also labeled as “foreign agents” under Russian law.

One possible incident that may have put UC Berkeley on the list is that it provided refuge for two outspoken Russian scholars and critics of Putin. Ilya Matveyev and Ilya Budraitskis were visiting scholars in Berkeley’s program for Critical Theory and Sociology.

Hundreds of institutions in the United States and internationally are on the Ministry of Justice list. UC Berkeley joins other US institutions like Yale, Bard College, and George Washington University.

​The new designation brings uncertainty to Russian international students and professors who have worked with RASA or Berkeley (or other US institutions on the list). Most have no clear answers about their ability to return to Russia because of their affiliation.

You Might Also Like

Taxing Foreign Agents
  • January 04, 2026

Taxing Foreign Agents

As of the new year, registered foreign agents are liable for a high income tax rate.
Russia Comes for Norwegians
  • February 09, 2025

Russia Comes for Norwegians

The independent Norwegian news site The Barents Observer has been declared "undesirable" by the Russian government.
Fulbright Foreign Agents?
  • June 20, 2024

Fulbright Foreign Agents?

Now that Fulbright has been declared an "undesirable organization," what will happen with its current and former Russian researchers?
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955