According to nra.lv, public activist Daria Nurieva, who goes by the pseudonym Daiva Kučinskaitė, began persecuting philology professor Andrei Desnitsky in May 2023. She herself called this campaign “zadaivlenie” — a term derived from her pseudonym. The dismissal from Vilnius University occurred two weeks before the start of the academic year.
The publication notes that Kučinskaitė was previously an Orthodox activist, promoted the ideas of the “Russian world,” and wrote poems praising Russian tsarism. Eight years ago she moved to Lithuania, where, according to her, she came to identify as Lithuanian through her father and Ukrainian through her mother.
In her blog, Kučinskaitė-Nurieva explains the conflict with Desnitsky as a quarrel in a church where she came to sing in the choir. According to her, the professor was against her presence: “Andrei Desnitsky could not pray calmly while I was singing.” She also stated: “I don't know what kind of scholar he is, but as a Christian Desnitsky is simply no good. In words he is a believer, but in reality — spiteful, vindictive, self-absorbed intriguer.”
In addition, in her blog Kučinskaitė accuses associates of Alexei Navalny who left Russia after the war began of using illegal labor and not paying taxes.
According to the publication, the pretext for the harassment was Desnitsky's 2012 article in which he called the Soviet occupation of Lithuania by the legal term “annexation.” The professor apologized to Lithuanian society for the article from eleven years ago, but, as reported, was nevertheless dismissed.
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