Freedom Degree

Students' stories

Here we collect the stories of students. Some have been persecuted by governments for their civic engagement, journalism, NGO work, social activism or refusal to serve in the military, and they have received support from Freedom Degree. There are other people interviewed here as well. Those whose study abroad experiences we found interesting and relevant and they are sharing them with you.

Valeria Chyzh, a citizen of Belarus, studying Political Science at Vilnius State University in Lithuania.

Valeria Chyzh, a citizen of Belarus, studied at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH) in Moscow. After participating in an anti-war protests in Moscow, she was subsequently detained for ten days at the notorious Sakharovo Detention Centre for emigrants. Fearing extradition to Belarus, where she could face problems related to her participation in political protests in 2020, she decided not to wait for the worst consequences and left Russia. Later she found out that Russian authorities had banned her from entering the country for 45 years.

Valeria attempted to obtain her bachelor's degree through distance learning in Russia while also searching for options to study in another country. However, she was not given the opportunity to defend her thesis in a Russian university.

"Despite having dual citizenship, I found it challenging to receive assistance from Belarusian projects that help students, since I hadn't studied at a Belarusian university," she says. "Eventually, I was recommended to apply to Freedom Degree for help.

I remember sitting in a coffee shop and talking to the Freedom Degree Director. At that point, I had lost hope of obtaining my bachelor's degree and it seemed like I would have to end my academic career. However, I received support and encouragement, and we started working on my problem."

Valeria is currently a student of political science at Vilnius University: "My area of interest lies at the intersection of political science and urban studies. I'm interested in studying the sociology of the city, the sociology of urban government, and local communities. For my thesis I'm researching social cohesion in urban studies, particularly in urban communities, using Kosovo as an example."

Valeria has noticed a significant difference in the quality of education between her Russian university and Vilnius University. She enjoyed her studies in Moscow, but she finds her experience at Vilnius University to be more fulfilling and pleasant. For the first time, she has had an open and positive interaction with research advisers who have read her thesis. Her thesis was carefully studied, and she received valuable advice, despite the fact that Valeria was the only one who presented her project in English.

She notes a fundamental difference in the way this process was organized at Vilnius University compared to her Russian university:

"I recall my time at the Russian State University for the Humanities, when we had to defend our coursework or submit it for evaluation to a third party. Usually, they would only give it a cursory glance and provide very general feedback, almost as if they didn't care. During the defense, it seemed like nobody really took the time to read our work, despite the fact that we had spent months working on it, which was quite disheartening."

Valeria considers it important that her new classmates are seriously engaged in educational activities. She has noticed a significant difference in students’ level of dedication. Furthermore, there is also a notable difference in the percentage of students who attend university with a clear purpose, versus those who attend just for the sake of it. Valeria recalls her time in Moscow, where many students would attend university solely to avoid military service or because their parents had instructed them to do so.

Valeria is a person with ambitious plans for the future: "I wish to bridge the gap between the Academy and the world of applied politics. Additionally, I aspire to assist students who find themselves in difficult situations. I want to redirect somehow the resources that I accumulated with Freedom Degree, including emotional support, guidance, and care to this. I am grateful that Freedom Degree today places such emphasis on bachelor’s students."

K. (student, wished to remain anonymous, seeking admission in the United Kingdom)

Pyotr Ivanov, European Humanities University, Media and Communications

Pyotr studied psychology in St. Petersburg and completed two years. He has also been working as a journalist for several years, which is his primary profession, while training as a psychologist as an additional skill.

However, working as a courageous journalist in an authoritarian country Pyotr faced serious threats from the security forces. He was subjected to physical violence, including an attack by unknown assailants near his house that resulted in a broken nose. Later, he received threats of being sent to the army.

After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Pyotr began to look for options to study in another country. He then enrolled in the European Humanities University in Vilnius, to study media communications, which is closely related to his main professional activities.

However, like many forced migrants, Pyotr has been experiencing financial difficulties. Due to this, he sought help from Freedom Degree: "I'm working, but my salary is spent mostly on rent, learning the language, and bare necessities. I can't afford to pay for my studies independently. Fortunately, Freedom Degree guaranteed to support me financially if necessary."

Pyotr was unable to transfer to the second or third year of his Bachelor's degree. As a result, he had to start all over again from the first year. The psychology program he studied in St. Petersburg was vastly different from the media and communications program at EHU.

Pyotr notes that it is not difficult to gain admission to EHU, as the application is submitted online, and the university only requires the confirmation of English language test results. During his admission interview, Pyot was asked about his experience and motivation: "Everything went quickly and easily, as my life revolves around media and communications. I have identified as a journalist since my school years."

After February 22, 2022, Pyotr has been cautious about making any big future plans. Nonetheless, he is considering pursuing master's programs that are related to his primary profession in the media.

"It's wonderful that Freedom Degree supports students who sometimes have to flee their countries with only shorts, slippers, and a robe. Without access to education abroad, the experience can be unpleasant and limiting. Legalization opportunities are reduced and individuals must rely solely on themselves."

Sam (Anthropology Student)

Mikita Kuchinsky

Mikita Kuchinsky is a freelance journalist and has been working in the media since 2020, back when he was a student at a Russian university. In addition, he has been involved in political activism, even running as a candidate for municipal deputy in his hometown of Lytkarino. According to Mikita, this activist experience played a great role in his future enrolment at a Norwegian university.

As early as high school, I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do: journalism. It seemed to me that the best way to do that was to get a specialized education. So I enrolled in a program called international journalism in Moscow.

Mikita was quickly disappointed in his choice. He faced a situation usual for Russia - the low quality of higher education.

From about the first week, I realized that this was absolutely not something that would help me in my professional career. The academic level was about zero in most disciplines. The professors were constantly going off topic, eventually forgetting their subject matter. There were no alternative teachers and the program was just very weak, to describe it in a nutshell.

In addition, there were a lot of political points that I could not agree with. I was already involved in activism at that time, I was running for election, I participated in rallies, I was detained. Of course, I could not agree with the position of supporting Putin and the current government. When you wake up at 5:30 a.m., leave at 6:30 a.m., spend an hour and a half commuting to the university, and at 8 a.m. in class listen to a political science professor thanking Putin for the Sochi Olympics and the annexation of Crimea - this is, to put it mildly, disgusting.

Nikita says that he had originally planned to stay in Russia and continue his studies, enroling in a more prestigious university to finally get a good quality education. The tragic circumstances of the beginning of the war prevented this. In addition, Nikita now simply cannot return to Russia and study there - he has publicly worked for an organization that the Russian authorities have declared “undesirable”. This clearly jeopardizes his safety.

I immediately realized that propaganda narratives would take over all Russian education. I decided not to continue my studies in Moscow and paused my studies altogether. I went to Lithuania and continued to do journalistic work from there.

After a year of living and working in Lithuania, Mikita decided that he needed to move further down the educational track. Around the same time, he was offered the opportunity to attend a university in Norway on a scholarship program. The study takes place at the University of Tromsø, in northern Norway, in a program called "Peace and Conflict Transformation". This is a Norwegian government program that provides scholarships and covers tuition for students from developing countries, especially political activists at risk of persecution.

Mikita describes the experience of studying in Norway as both more enjoyable and more productive than in Russia. In Norway, he notes the openness of the university environment and the lack of unnecessary control, which creates a sense of free space.

In Moscow, access to the university was limited by some endless turnstiles, guards, and passes. Here in Tromsø, the library is staffless even on weekends and you can enter the building around the clock if you have a student card.

According to Mikita, the second major difference is that at his new university there is no attendance control in strange forms. In Moscow he had the impression that he was still in school.

In Norway, in contrast, the responsibility for learning is entirely yours, you decide which classes are important to you and which are not, and you try to remember what commitments you have made. All of this has a much better effect on intrinsic motivation.

One significant change for Mikita was the amount of academic literature in English that he have to read. This has seriously expanded his knowledge. In addition, the program has been successful in structuring his courses with an emphasis on practical application of knowledge and academic writing from the first days. Despite his lack of academic background, he was able to adapt quickly.

I caught up pretty quickly and was able to overcome the fear of not being able to study in English. The first academic session was a big stress for me, although in the end it turned out that there is nothing extraordinary about it, you just need to read regularly and logically put your thoughts into the text.

Mikita's expectations from his studies in Norway have been fully met. Now he is in the second year of his master's program and is working on his thesis. Speaking about life abroad and everyday aspects, Mikita notes the pros and cons.

Adaptation in Norway was difficult because of the harsh climatic conditions, especially polar days and nights, which affected the student's sleep and mental state. Socialization is made more difficult by the fact that Mikita does not know Norwegian. Another difficulty was the remote location of Tromsø, which makes traveling to Europe expensive.

When I arrived, there were polar days and it really messed with my sleep. Then there were polar nights in the winter, and it had a big impact on my mental state.

But life in Norway has its advantages. As Mikita says, even a job which is “unprestigious” in the Russian context can provide a decent income, which relieves some of the anxiety of students. They can work part-time and study at once.

And this is what Mikita says about his future:

It is very hard to make long-term plans in emigration. In terms of my studies, I am now thinking more and more often that I could stay in academia and continue to do research. I can't yet outline a specific trajectory, but I am thinking about it.

I can't imagine such a return until there are fundamental political changes. I have little hope for the near future, so I am trying to accept it and slowly build my life in exile. Nevertheless, I never cease to believe that one day I will be able to return to Russia in peace.

Misha (studies and works in Slovakia)

Hi, my name is Misha, I am a front-end developer (almost full-stack developer). I study applied computer science in Slovakia, at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. What do we study? It includes a lot of things: programming theory, logic and other theoretical disciplines, but also applied knowledge. We get actual development experience in different languages. I'm in my second year now. We've already studied Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, C programming language (which I don't really like). We also have Java being taught, which I haven't taken yet but plan to next year. I enjoy doing it, the university has even exceeded my expectations.

About studying in Russia and other countries

I did not want to study in Russia because the quality of education is poor and it costs a giant amount of money. Secondly, I have never liked in my whole life what happens in Russian politics. I had the experience of studying in Russia and like many people, it was not very positive. You are just shoved into university by your parents, more as a defense against the army. I studied at a pedagogical university, almost didn't go there and dropped out in my last year. Basically, I don't regret it, because I wouldn't have needed that diploma.

In general, the first foreign country where I started studying was the Czech Republic. Both in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia there are laws that allow you to study at universities for free, but in the national language. It is not favorable to study in English, as it turns out. As a result, I studied at the Czech language courses at Charles University to enter the main program at the university. They cost quite a lot, I saved up for them for a long time, but it was worth it.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a foothold in the Czech Republic for various reasons. At that time I still wanted to study design, but then I changed my mind. Now I can say that I had a rather poor understanding of the specifics of teaching design in the Czech Republic. I then decided to go back to programming to study it more intensively.

I cope with financial issues myself, organizations did not help me, and there is no need. I have a full-time job, and sometimes I also have time for freelancing. I study for free in Slovakia. I even received a scholarship for academic excellence last academic year! Pretty symbolic, like 400 euros a year, but still nice. My expectations from studying in Slovakia have been met. I am not studying at a university in the capital, it is not a maximum workload, but it is to my advantage because I am working.

I like the style of teaching at the university. There are a lot of young teachers with whom you can find a common language and socialize outside the university, and even go to bars after classes. What you need to understand about my field - knowledge here gets outdated quickly. But we are given the freshest possible knowledge at the university, especially in the field of web development. I absolutely love the teachers and the content of the courses. I've improved a lot in my work only thanks to the university.

About living and working in Slovakia

In Slovakia, the main difficulties were with the residence permit. I applied from Serbia, where I had lived for some time. It was extremely difficult, because you cannot apply from Russia, and in Serbia I managed to get an appointment by a lucky miracle. It was extremely long, I was constantly calling and writing to the consulate, reminding them about my case. Every time I was told that there were no places to apply: “wait your turn, wait your turn, wait your turn". In the end, it happened so that I arrived for my studies only in November, when it is already in full swing, when students are already taking their assessments. I got into academic trouble, but still I'm studying at my university precisely because they decided to wait for me. Other universities didn't really meet my needs. Now I am retaking the exams that I didn't have time to take properly back then.

The process of obtaining a residence permit in Slovakia is very complicated, but I like the country very much. For me, the main advantage here is the relatively low cost of living, much lower than in western Europe. I could not afford to live in Germany or Austria. In Slovakia, even if a student does not work, the places in the dormitory cost 60-70 euros a month, which is absolutely realistic to afford, and students can officially work another 20 hours a week. In addition, the country is favorably located, right in the center of Europe. From the western part of the country, Vienna can be reached in about an hour. It is easy to get to Prague, Budapest, Warsaw.

There is relatively low competition in the labor market here, because many locals, on the contrary, leave for countries with a higher standard of living. Everyone is valued here if you are a good specialist. It is easier to find a job and housing here - there are no queues to view an apartment, as there are in Western Europe. I also find it quite easy to make connections at university, to find company for a trip to a museum or a movie. People are open, they make contact. What else can I say? It is safe here, the air is clean, the food is tasty, and the drinking water is from the tap.

About disadvantages

Of the disadvantages, I can single out two main ones. The first is the economy, and the second is politics. As for the economy, it is one of the worst in the EU. Slovaks like to look at Poland, saying how everything is growing and developing rapidly there, new IT companies appearing, and so on. And it has to be said that apartment prices are quite high, if you compare them with salaries, and in Bratislava they are quite astronomical.

About politics: it is very turbulent, the government changes frequently, there are early dissolutions of parliament and so on. People often vote for some conspiracy theorists and disinformers, and then the other political groups go to rallies, trying to oppose their country's slide into authoritarianism. In neighboring Austria, there are also very disturbing trends.

About life's plans

The main plan is to finish my education. I'm currently in the second year of my bachelor's program. The third one will be the last one, which means that I should graduate in a year and a half. After that I plan to move either to Bratislava or Košice (it is the second largest city in Slovakia), to continue my studies in my Master's program. Universities and education there are of higher quality, well, and in general, the cities are larger, in them personally I am more interested. Then, perhaps, I will go for a PhD, in Slovakia there are good conditions and it will be possible to get a more solid scholarship, in addition to free education. In general, I want to stay in Slovakia, build up a lot of life experience to get a permanent residence permit and then citizenship. I want such a stable, calm and measured life. I hope that everything will work out for me.

Alina Kandyba (MARCH school, Lund University, architect)

About Alina and her studies

My name is Alina (25) I am from Russia, from Moscow and I am ethnic Ukrainian. Now I live in Berlin. In May this year I completed my Master's degree in architecture in Sweden, at Lund University.

I graduated from the Moscow School of Architecture. To be honest, my studies were not much different from education in Europe. It was a neighbouring building, a nearby faculty with the better-known British Higher School of Design. In terms of Russian regulations, it was not a bachelor's degree, but we received British diplomas through a special partnership programme. What is particularly unusual for my Bachelor's degree in Russia is that I was taught architecture for only 3 years. This is in principle impossible in the Russian Federation, where such (bachelor's) education lasts 5 years.

Since MARSH (Moscow Architectural School - ed.) was designed as a kind of innovative school, a challenge to MARHI (Moscow Architectural Institute - ed.) and all the Soviet norms of architectural design, everything was different there. The number of classes, the list of subjects, their content. At MARSH we did not have such subjects as physical education, astronomy, and others which were not related to architecture. We had three or four subjects, each of which was usually given a whole study day. There was individual work, presentations, lectures, and group work. We learnt according to the patterns familiar to European art education. During the periods of final exhibition projects and exams, the London commission came to visit us. That was a good stepping stone to continue education in Europe.

The administration and management were (and probably still are) quite opposed to the Russian regime. In principle it was hard to imagine any Putin supporter studying at our university. We had admission interviews, the purpose of which was, among other things, to understand our views on life. They didn't necessarily ask about politics, but applicants should be open to the idea that architecture is an instrument of change. And, of course, as professionals we needed to understand the problems of the country.

In addition, many teachers openly expressed anti-Putin views, after which the school faced pressure. While I was studying at MARSH, the Moscow Mayor (Sobyanin) revoked our college licence. We turned into an additional education and lost student benefits such as transport cards. Fortunately, none of this prevented us from graduating and getting British degrees.

After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, my school came to an end. It was now subject to state educational standards. The undergraduate programme was changed to a long, five-year bachelor's degree. They added physical education, languages, maybe even history, and introduced the Unified State Exam for entry. No more British degrees. The business has closed down. But I finished my education in 2020 and left Russia earlier.

In general, the first stage of education in Russia in my case did not differ much from the European education in Sweden. But there is one big difference! In Sweden, they don't work like that. In Moscow, it was absolutely normal for us to work from 10am to 10pm. In my Swedish school we worked strictly from 9am to 5pm, after which any group work was impossible. In Sweden, free time and leisure are very much valued. I was fine with that.

About her attachment to Sweden

I didn't think about going anywhere other than Sweden and didn't pay much attention to the list of the world's top architecture schools, although my classmates were always talking about them and preparing to go there. I decided to focus on the country I really want to live in. I have been in love with Sweden since I was a little girl. I grew up on Swedish children's and teenage literature, I was there at a very young age and dreamed of going back there. I even learnt Swedish while living in Moscow.

In Sweden, I studied on a fee basis. I didn't qualify for Sweden's most important scholarship - it required two years' work experience, which I didn't have. This scholarship, unfortunately, is now closed for Russians, but it has been reopened for Belarus nationals. And this is very good news. I hope that as many Belarus students as possible will find out that it is possible to apply for this scholarship and thus go to study. The main consideration is your motivation letter, you just have to convince the admission commission that the education is suitable for you.

About the cost of living and tuition

My department is one of the most expensive in Lund, because we have to use a huge number of workshops to study. There are 3D printers, lasers, and all kinds of complex materials. All this is included in the cost of education. The funny thing is that when I studied during the Covid period, many studios were closed, but the final price of education was not reduced. Fortunately, I was lucky and my parents were able to pay for my studies.

The expectations of my studies were fully met, if not even more so. Lund University is consistently ranked in the top 100 best universities in the world, which is quite a high position. To be honest, I expected very demanding and stressful work, but everything turned out to be very ‘Swedish’, very gentle and relaxed. We studied at a relaxed pace what makes Swedish architecture Swedish: wood as a material, the use of daylight in design. All sorts of nice, cosy things that you just don't get a chance to talk about in a university like, for example, MARKHI.

In Sweden, small projects with great detail and depth are welcome. Beautiful graphics, the ability to present yourself and tell your story. It is important to note that throughout our studies we were not given marks, as it is believed that architecture is an art, and art can be subjective. Therefore, everyone who turned up for most of the classes and wrote their diplomas received passing grades. It was a breakthrough for me that studying could be such that you could study surrounded by nature, you could have time for travelling, some side projects. So I relaxed and regained my energy.

On how to balance work and study

Then I started to notice that graduates were absolutely unable to find a job, especially those who did not have internships in Europe. So I started looking for internships at a furious pace in the third semester of my four semesters. Here, too, I was extremely lucky. I was offered an offer for a long internship at a big company in Denmark. I put my studies on pause in order to work for two years. During this period I still managed to get an Erasmus scholarship for working students.

Then it became clear that with an architectural degree it is quite difficult to get a job in Europe and it is difficult to balance work and study. I dragged out my sabbatical as much as I could and then decided to move from Denmark to Berlin. This is where I now live and work, I joined an internship at another company and then even got a long-term contract there. In the end I decided to finish university in Lund. I managed to do this without interrupting my work in Berlin.

Germany has a lot of difficulties with their infamous bureaucracy. I was cheered up in this respect by Sweden and Denmark, where you only need a fingerprint when applying for a work visa. Everything is very clear at every stage of the paperwork, all services exist in digital forms with a very clear interface, instructions, with few requirements. In Germany, the lists of documents, certificates and letters that were required of me were sometimes just anecdotal.

About life's plans

Actually, it's rather funny, but I won't abandon my goal to return to Sweden. But the plans are being rearranged a little bit. I want to gain work experience in Germany, get a residence permit here (which I can do in a year), and maybe even citizenship. And already with these means, with one more European language in the kit, I want to try to get to Sweden again. I really hope that this country is waiting for me too!

Yes, in Europe it is hard to find a place to live, to find a job, to get all the documents, to get them in time. Absolutely nothing in Germany was easy for me. But I am glad that I managed.

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