How can you hit your adversary where it hurts?

Poland recently made an ostensible move against Russian interests in Warsaw by sidelining Soviet-era graduates of Russia’s most prestigious academic institution – the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) – from its foreign ministry.

Gradual dismissal of MGIMO alumnae from senior positions at home and abroad has been underway since the Law and Justice Party (PiS) came to power in 2015.

Rather than diminishing Russian influence – purportedly exercised through MGIMO graduates – the move weakens vital expertise at a time when Russian-speaking specialists with the necessary regional knowledge, appreciation of current events, and contacts across the region are most needed.

Although the new personnel policy is believed to have affected Soviet-era graduates of all Russian universities, MGIMO alumni have been singled out in the foreign ministry’s public statements.

As stated by foreign minister Jacek Czaputovicz, “the management changed almost 100 percent. In particular, currently in management positions there are no persons who were members of the communist services, or graduates of the Moscow MGIMO”.

According to Czaputovicz, such a personnel turnover was “necessary for the effectiveness of the ministry”.