Leadership at the University of Tartu has strongly advised the school’s units and student organisations to avoid any partnership with the Red Bull manufacturer of energy drinks and not to buy the products. This is because Red Bull continues to have a presence in Russia, thus supporting the economy of the aggressor state, the newspaper Postimees has reported.
Red Bull GmbH is headquartered in Austria. The producer of energy drinks has been known as a sponsor and organiser of sports events in the fields of motorsports, cycling, snowboarding, E-sports, football, etc.
Ines Pütsepp is a media relations specialist at the Department of Marketing and Communication at the University of Tartu, and she says that it is important for the university and the companies with which it works to share the same values, and this should be expressed not just in words, but also in deeds.
“At the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the University of Tartu categorically condemned Russia’s actions,” says Pütsepp. “We also terminated our partnerships with universities and research institutions in Russia.”
Yale University has put Red Bull on the list of foreign enterprises which are still doing business in Russia. The Austrian company has halted investments there, but it has not exited the market.
“We see no way of working with companies that still work in Russia,” Pütsepp added. “We have given our departments clear instructions to temporarily suspend all joint projects with Red Bull and other companies which operate in Russia until they stop doing so. We are constantly monitoring updates to keep informed about those companies which are still doing business in Russia.”
Sten-Martin Pukka chairs the Estonian Law Student Union at the University of Tartu. He says that the organisation is not yet fully aware of the instruction, and so he could not yet properly respond to the question of what to make of it.
Source: BNS
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