Former Kyiv university lecturer suspected of treason posts photo of herself in front of Russian flag
Yevheniia Bilchenko, a former professor of the Mykhailo Drahomanov National Pedagogical University in Kyiv who is suspected of treason, has posted a photo of herself with an assault rifle in front of a Russian flag, showing her support for Russia's war against Ukraine.
Bilchenko, a former lecturer and professor of cultural studies, was charged with treason and recruiting collaborators in August 2022.
These days the former lecturer makes her pro-Kremlin position very clear on her Telegram channel. For example, she was in the temporarily Russian-occupied city of Melitopol on 3 October, claiming she had been "severely hurt by Ukraine".
"I had symptoms of PTSD, but I coped. We visited the street named after Dasha Dugina [the late daughter of Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin – ed.] It's nice. There are traces of the [Ukrainian] language everywhere: on the radio, in graffiti, on TV... There are even songs about the Ukrainian Armed Forces being played in cafes. No one is jamming it," Bilchenko said.
Bilchenko actually admits in one of her posts that she "waged an underground campaign against Ukraine".
"What was I doing 'those nine years'? I was doing something that no one gives a sh*t about now, and, frankly, I don't either. Three of them were crazy, and for the other six years, I waged an underground campaign against Ukraine in complete isolation, without support, without any injection of glory or honours. Despite everything, thank God, I earned high treason, and that’s what I wish for others. What else can I say... I serve the people of Russia."
Bilchenko also said she has been living in Russia for two years and has "no regrets".
It is worth mentioning that the former Kyiv university professor had expressed her anti-Ukrainian stance even before the full-scale Russian invasion. For instance, the cultural studies professor referred to Ukraine as an "American colony" in early 2021.
She also described the law "On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language" as "a swollen lymph node in a sick body". Her university said such remarks were unacceptable. A few weeks later, she was suspended from teaching, and her lectures were reviewed and found to be "saturated with hate speech".
Ukrainian academics have reacted to Bilchenko's photo. Svitlana Vovk, coordinator of the anti-plagiarism initiative Dissergate, suggested that Bilchenko be stripped of her academic degrees and titles and that the draft Law on Academic Integrity be amended to include academic liability for collaborators.
"The main issue is Bilchenko's liability for collaboration, particularly towards the academic and education community," she notes.
The artist Lesia Roi pointed out that a Ukrainian camouflage jacket was visible in the corner of the photo and suggested that Bilchenko was "roaming the fields looking for mines".
Film critic Ihor Kromf believes putting the collaborator on trial will not have the desired effect.
"But the trial I would like to see (I'd be prepared to pay for streaming) would be of all those professor functionaries from my alma mater who knew perfectly well that Yevheniia was friends with Major Zakhar Prilepin of the ‘DPR special forces’ (the Russian-backed ‘Donetsk People's Republic’) and used to call him 'the new Bernard Shaw'. Everybody has known about this since 2016-2017. And they supported her. And they issued merit certificates. They even nominated her for a grant from either the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) or the Cabinet of Ministers," he adds.
Olha Krychynska, a volunteer and PhD candidate in art history, had also stated earlier that the university had covered up its former lecturer’s collaborationist activity.
"I can imagine how many Yevheniias there still are within the walls of Ukrainian universities," she added.
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