Alexandra Elbakyan, founder of academic research pirate site Sci-Hub, has pulled access to the site in Russia.

Elbakyan has reportedly been angered by fierce criticism from Russian scientists, including members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the last straw is said to have come when a newly discovered parasitic insect was named after her.

The new species, found in Mexico, received the official name Idiogramma elbakyanae.

A statement from the Khazakstan-born Sci-Hub founder is said to have described this as an “extreme injustice”, saying: “If you analyse the situation with scientific publications, the real parasites are scientific publishers, and Sci-Hub, on the contrary, fights for equal access to scientific information.”



International Publishers Association president Michiel Kolman, in Russia for the opening of the Moscow Book Fair, noted: “The fact is that Sci-Hub is now not available in the whole of Russia, a very surprising development. Aside from the ethical issues, the fact is, she [Elbakyan] can switch it on, and switch it off, just like that.”

In June, Elsevier won a $15m judgement against Sci-Hub for copyright infringement and the site is also facing legal action from academic publisher the American Chemical Society (ACS).