RANEPA University announced a bachelor’s degree for “media policemen.” Students will be taught “Fundamentals of National Security” and “Introduction to Chatbots.”
Lidia Malygina, head of the Department of Media Support of State Interests and National Security at the Institute of Law and National Security of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, spoke about this in a conversation with RTVI.
According to her, the development of the program “Media Support of State Interests and National Security” is an initiative of the Institute of Law and National Security of the Presidential Academy, “which found the support of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee.”
“We train not only specialists for the needs of the FSB but also heads of press services of defense enterprises, press secretaries for ministers, and future heads of state media. A media policeman is an agent of national media security,” Malygina said.
For any listed positions, “in addition to training in the field of media, training in the field of national security is mandatory,” the RANEPA clarified. “Previously, this training was received in the format of additional vocational training, a second higher education,” explained the head of the Department.
The main disciplines include “Fundamentals of National Security,” “Linguistic Foundations of Media Communications,” and “Introduction to Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence.”
“Students will receive severe linguistic training, study issues of media security and the psychology of information impact, new media and artificial intelligence in the media,” noted the RANEPA
Media security officers will be tasked with combating the propaganda of terrorism, criminal culture, teenage suicide, and insulting religious feelings,” head of the program Lidiya Malygina told Izvestia.
Graduates will receive a bachelor’s degree in “Media Support of State Interests and National Security,” as well as one of three specializations focusing on cyberbullying or stalking, piracy, and extremism.
Izvestia did not specify whether graduates would earn a police rank after completing the program.
According to the outlet, demand is expected to be high for the program since Russian authorities have been detecting and blocking many “illegal” and “destructive” materials online.
The additional details about the degree focusing on combating various forms of what the Russian state deems as harmful activities—including terrorism propaganda, criminal culture, teenage suicide, and insulting religious feelings—sheds light on the expansive control measures that the Russian state is aiming to implement within the media sphere. The broad categorization of “extremism” in Russian law, which can include criticism of the war in Ukraine or of President Putin, highlights the potential for this educational program to act as a tool for suppressing dissent.
The program’s graduates being specialized in areas like cyberbullying, stalking, piracy, and extremism, while seemingly legitimate areas of concern, can also be interpreted as aligning with broader state efforts to surveil and control digital spaces. The lack of clarity on whether graduates would receive a police rank suggests a non-transparent relationship between academic credentials and state authority, which can lead to ambiguities in the actual power and roles these individuals may wield after graduation.
The high expected demand for the program, driven by the Russian authorities’ increasing efforts to detect and block what they consider “illegal” and “destructive” materials, indicates a systemic push towards more regulated and state-influenced media environments. This effort aligns with authoritarian principles, where the state exerts significant influence over information and public discourse, potentially at the expense of individual freedoms and open, democratic debate. The label of “fascist” that might be applied by critics would refer to the perceived oppressive and authoritarian overtones of such a state-driven educational and operational endeavor.
