Valeria Ratnikova, a journalist for the Dozhd TV channel, said that Boris Volkhonsky, Associate Professor at the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Moscow State University, insulted her in a rude manner. After that, ISAA graduates stood up for her.
Ratnikova published a correspondence in which Volkhonsky asks for a comment, in response to which he writes "Forget my phone." After Ratnikova wrote "OK", Volkhonsky began to insult the journalist.
After that, ISAA alumni released a statement criticizing the assistant professor. They also condemned Russia's war against Ukraine, pointing out that Volkhonsky himself actively supports it. The Associate Professor's Facebook profile picture has the letter Z.
“Unfortunately, we do not represent the ISAA administration: we are graduates who are in contact with some of the current teachers (but, of course, not with Associate Professor Volkhonsky). Nevertheless, we would like to offer you the deepest apologies on behalf of that part of the Isaiah community that does not accept the criminal war and the humiliation of human dignity,” the graduates said in a statement.
Volkhonsky has been an Associate Professor at the Department of Indian Philology at ISAA since 2017. He is also a member of the Kremlin's Valdai Discussion Club and regularly comments on pro-Russian media.