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Sasha Skochilenko at Bard College Berlin: How a Liberal Arts Education Shaped Her Time in Prison

Russian artist, former political prisoner, and Bard alumna Aleksandra (Sasha) Skochilenko recently visited Bard College Berlin and spoke on how her liberal arts education at Smolny College, Bard College’s first international partner college, impacted her time in prison.

Skochilenko is an alumna of Smolny, founded in 1994 by Saint Petersburg State University in close collaboration with Bard College in Annandale, NY. She described the college as “an island of freedom” in an increasingly repressive environment. Smolny functioned until 2021, when Bard was declared “a threat to the foundations of Russia's constitutional order” by the Russian Prosecutor-General’s office, ultimately forcing the college’s closure. The office of Smolny Beyond Borders, an initiative offering liberal arts education online to the internationally-oriented Russian language community, is now hosted at Bard College Berlin.

Skochilenko was arrested for placing anti-war messages disguised as price tags in a St. Petersburg grocery store, spending over two years behind bars. In August 2024, she was freed as part of a prisoner exchange involving Russia, Germany, and the United States.

Despite the gravity of her experiences, Skochilenko appeared animated and lighthearted. Moderated by her former advisor, Dr. Ilya Kalinin, the conversation flowed from the humor of teaching her cellmate about Foucault’s panopticon to recounting how reading the Decameron inspired her to write letters to journalists worldwide. She joked about how her liberal arts background was “the reason [she] got [herself] in prison,” but also credited it with inspiring a lot of her actions behind bars. For example, she reflected on how her education’s emphasis on broad, critical thinking helped her decide how to portray herself publicly, whether as a ’60s-style hippie or by evoking the idea of Christian martyrs.

During the event, she also presented illustrations from her latest project with translator and publisher Dmitry Simanovsky, a newly released Russian edition of some of Aldous Huxley’s essays called What Are You Going to Do About It?, published by Überbau. The texts, appearing in Russian for the first time, address war, pacifism, and polarization.

Even in the face of severe repression, Skochilenko maintained that her liberal arts education and faith in open discourse played a significant role in sustaining her resolve in prison. The more detailed story of her tenacity in the face of adversity can be found on her webpage.

By: Mishel Jovanovska '25

Post Date: 04-30-2025
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Bard College Berlin is institutionally accredited at the national level in Germany by the Wissenschaftsrat.

In the United States, Bard College Berlin is accredited through
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Qualifying students receive both a German BA and an American BA. 
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