Shaninka’s rector was Maria Sygova – Member of Parliament from United Russia

Maria Sygova has been appointed rector of the Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences (Shaninka). She is an acting deputy from United Russia in St. Petersburg and the rector of the International Banking Institute named after Anatoly Sobchak.

In the message of Shaninka, it is noted that for the former rector Sergey Zuev, “it is difficult to fulfill his duties in full due to the ongoing court process.” Zuev is accused in the case of fraud, he was ordered to prohibit certain actions, he does not admit guilt. Zuev will remain the academic supervisor of Shaninka and will participate in the discussion of the development of the university.

The Moscow Times, with reference to sources from the circle of Shaninka’s founders, writes that the university’s students have been decided to be transferred under the jurisdiction of the Sobchak Institute.

• Zuev is accused in the case of the former Deputy Minister of Education Marina Rakova for embezzlement of more than 21 million rubles belonging to the Fund for New Forms of Education Development. In November 2022, Zueva’s house arrest was replaced by a ban on certain activities.
• Shaninka – one of the first private universities in Russia – was founded in 1995. Its first rector was a well-known British sociologist, professor of Manchester University Theodore Shanin. In 2018, Shaninka was denied state accreditation – allegedly due to the university’s violation of federal educational standards. In 2020, the accreditation was returned.