William J. Kemble is reporting for the Daily Freeman Russia's Ministry of Justice has declared that Bard College is a threat to its government. The determination was announced in June by the Russian news agency Tass, which declared the Hudson Valley liberal arts institution an undesirable non-governmental organization. “Following the examination of materials … the Prosecutor General’s office decided to recognize the Bard College foreign-based educational NGO undesirable on the Russian territory,” agency officials wrote. “It has been determined that the NGO’s activity threatens the constitutional order and security of Russia.” Tass reported that Bard was the 35th organization added to the list by the Ministry of Justice. “We never received any explanation of why the designation was given or if there were any specific issues,” Bard spokesman Mark Primoff said. Primoff said it was unhelpful to speculate on what prompted the decision but acknowledged that Bard’s long-standing effort to have students think independently could be an issue. “The leap from thinking freely to being an enemy of the state is at the crux of what is happening in Russia and that is a tragedy,” he said. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.