Drevyev

(Photo of grass behind UCU, with the initials in Cyrillic: YKY.)

I had a thought about the success of UCU, namely, how it does so well and keeps free from corruption. The thought brings me back to the success of the Baltic republics (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) after the fall of the USSR. UCU seems to be following the same pattern as those countries, though unconsciously, as they remain noticeably un-communist and atypical of its immediate surroundings.

A friend of my mom from Estonia told us in 1994 that Estonian politics was extremely clean for the region. The Mafia had little control, and the government functioned relatively cheaply and efficiently. Economically, the country did extremely well, without the hyperinflation that other former-Soviet states suffered. One factor that was probably significant was that the majority of the first politicians (according to our friend) were either under 35 or over 60. The reason: the in-between generation was seen as tainted by the Soviets and thus received no popular support.

At UCU, one friend noted off-hand that many of the people involved in UCU had previously been part of a Catholic student organization during college. I was under the impression that this was towards the end of the USSR, but maybe somewhat before. Many of the professors and administrators were my age (mid 30s). That meant that they went to Soviet high schools, but post-Soviet colleges. Thus few of them had served in Soviet jobs, let alone in the Soviet political hierarchy.

The professors and administrators are noticeably hard working, and they have a reputation of functioning in a "corruption-free zone." Students don't cheat (which was not just common but expected during earlier eras) and can't buy diplomas. Knowledge of foreign languages, especially English, is widespread if not the norm. Most significantly, the students, professors, and administrators I met were fiercely determined to help their country, even though their knowledge of foreign languages and travel make them prime material for much higher-paying jobs.

I wonder how much involvement in the Catholic student organization helped the university to evolve in the positive directions it has. First of all, I must admit I am basing my musings on an off-hand comment. Nevertheless, the difference that one sees in UCU compared to most post-USSR institutions could have arisen from the influence of a Christian group. As a Catholic organization, the group had to be antithetical to communism. Further, its participants are too young to have been involved heavily in party politics. Perhaps as a Christian group, it established a basic morality that has become second-nature to UCU. This may have also helped them stay above the level of materialism that the USSR has spawned.

It would be interesting to hear about this counter-communistic force in the early days of the break-up of the USSR. Because of my own work in an Orthodox student movement, it makes me happy to think about the possible influence that such a group can have in the long run.