Russia

‘It seemed too unreal': Mass. college professor sanctioned by Russia

Anna Ohanyan, an expert in Russian foreign policy and Stonehill College professor born in the former Soviet Union, appeared on a list of 500 Americans sanctioned by Vladimir Putin

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A local college professor was stunned to learn she was on a list of hundreds of Americans sanctioned by the Kremlin.

A Massachusetts college professor was stunned to learn she was on a list of hundreds of Americans sanctioned by Russia.

Anna Ohanyan is an expert in Russian foreign policy, and she hasn't been afraid to criticize the Kremlin. But when she showed up on the list of 500 Americans sanctioned by Vladimir Putin, it was the farthest thing from her mind.

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"I was on Twitter," said Ohanyan. "Someone tagged me, along with several other scholars that have been sanctioned, and I could not believe it. It seemed too unreal."

The professor at Stonehill College in Easton didn't realize her work was being noticed by the Kremlin.

"First, it was amusing," she told NBC10 Boston in an exclusive interview. "I'm, like, a college professor. I didn't think I mattered so much."

When she checked the list, there she was at number 269.

"Right after President Barack Obama," she said. "Which is really the cherry on top of this little development in my life."

Ohanyan is an expert in Russian foreign policy, and had written about the folly Putin was making by invading Ukraine.

"This war is really self-sabotage on the side of Russia," she said. "I do not think that Russia will recover as a great power from this, its decline was already happening and this war simply catalyzed it."

While being sanctioned doesn't mean much, practically speaking, since she has no assets in Russia and hadn't planned on visiting, Ohanyan says being named gives her an uneasy feeling. But it's also a badge of honor.

"It always has been important for me to do the type of research that can have some sort of an impact on conflict regions around the world," she said.

Ohanyan, who grew up in the former Soviet Union, says being sanctioned is a way for Russia to attempt to silence her, but it won't stop her from her research, writing and teaching.

"It's very much in line with Russia trying to delegitimize and dilute the importance of democratic institutions," she said.

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