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An international alliance to defend academic freedom was launched at a recent global online conference held to honour the work of jailed Russian intellectual and anti-war socialist Boris Kagarlitsky.

The initial focus of the (KNIF) will be the growing threat to academic freedom in Russia and the territories it occupies, as exemplified by Kagarlitsky’s case, who is currently in jail for voicing his opposition to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

But KNIF’s founding statement adds it “will also strive to strengthen solidarity with those fighting for the fundamental value of intellectual freedom in all countries where this comes under threat.”

The October 8 conference, “”, brought together 450 attendees from 38 countries, with the of its proceedings registering more than 7400 views since.

In her , award-winning philosopher Nancy Fraser told conference attendees: “Basic freedoms of thought and expression are not just under the gun in Russia. There are Borises everywhere, in Palestine and in Israel, in Iran and in China, in India and Brazil, in Germany, France and in the United States.

“Most of these repressed leftists are less well known to the international left intelligentsia than Boris is. But they are equally in need of our support.”

Kagarlitsky was barred from his teaching post at the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences, shortly after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and was saddled with restrictions on his freedom of expression. He was then arrested in July last year over an offhand joke he made nine months earlier on social media regarding an attack on the Kerch bridge connecting Crimea to Russia.

For these comments, Kagarlitsky was found guilty of the trumped-up charge of “justifying terrorism” and handed a five-year jail term, which he is serving in Corrective Colony 4, Torzhok, Tver Province

In a letter from jail t the conference, Kagarlitsky wrote: “To be honest, when I heard about the conference dedicated to me, I was both happy and a little scared: usually such conferences are organised in honour of people who have already died.

“Fortunately, nowadays you don’t have to die, you just have to go to prison. The difference is that when you die you don’t come back, but I do hope to come back from prison. I have big plans. We all have big plans.”

Thanking those involved in the campaign for his release, Kagarlitsky added: “There is still much work to do. We will do it together — in Russia, in Europe, everywhere. See you!”

Kagarlitsky sent two other letters to the conference outlining some of his thoughts on the and the , which have been published at .��

Organised by the , the conference was sponsored by various leading left journals and publishing houses from around the world, including 91������̳.

Meanwhile, an October 4 vote on Kagarlitsky’s case in Portugal’s parliament revealed the hypocrisy of parties claiming to support Russian dissidents.

, the resolution stated: “The Portuguese government can and must, in the name of freedom and peace, initiate all diplomatic efforts for the release of Boris Kagarlitsky. Portugal must also express its willingness to receive Kagarlitsky as a political exile.”

Noting that Kagarlitsky is a “critical voice against imperialism, the government of the Russian Federation and the war that Vladimir Putin unleashed with the invasion of Ukraine”, the resolution also expressed fears that conditions “will not be provided to guarantee his safety, health and physical integrity” in the penal colony where he is being held.

Despite claiming to support opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the conservative Social Democratic Party, far-right Chega (Enough) party and Christian Democratic CDS — People’s Party all voted the motion down.

This was in contrast to the position they took in May, when they voted in favour of a motion that Portugal welcome then-jailed journalist and writer Vladimir Kara-Murza as a political exile. Kara-Murza was subsequently released in a prisoner exchange that took place between Russia and the United States in August.

The Portuguese Communist Party abstained on the resolution in support of Kagarlitsky.

[Federico Fuentes is a member of the Boris Kagarlitsky International Solidarity Campaign. Transcripts of the speeches given at the October 8 conference are being uploaded to .]