RUSSIA Scientists demand end to new curbs on foreign contacts Tweet



The scientists, many of whom represent some leading Russian universities, made an official statement on 19 November during the last meeting at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), demanding that the Russian government cancel the existing order on the grounds that a “free exchange of scientific ideas” is an important condition for the development of science in Russia.



“The legislation of the Russian Federation imposes lots of restrictions on scientists working on some closed issues. But additional restrictions are not allowed. In this regard, the RAS General Assembly insists on cancelling the order.”



The order, which was officially sent by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science to various domestic scientific organisations and higher education institutions back in July, was aimed at regulating the way in which they interact and cooperate with foreign scientific organisations and universities, including during the hosting of foreign scientists visiting Russia.



These instructions require scientific organisations to inform the government about any planned meeting with foreign colleagues five days in advance, providing a list of participants of such meetings.



Each of such meetings must involve the participation of at least two Russian scientists. Moreover, any contact with foreigners outside working hours would be possible only with the permission of the management of relevant universities.



After the meetings have been conducted, scientists must complete a report describing the conversation and attach scans of participants’ passports to it.



Finally, during such meetings Russian scientists are allowed to use “means of processing and storing information” such as telephones, watches, binoculars and tape recorders, only in cases stipulated by the international treaties of Russia.



The anachronistic references suggested the wording had been lifted from Soviet era documents.



While the Russian government refused to clarify the reasons for the order, some domestic analysts, as well as representatives of some leading domestic universities, suggested the decision was related to some recent cases of disclosure of classified information by Russian scientists to some Western research institutions, which the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) alleged could be affiliated to the CIA and MI6.



An example of this is the case of Viktor Kudryavtsev, an employee of the Central Scientific Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering (TsNIIMash), who was arrested in July 2018. According to investigators, he sent classified data to Belgium’s Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, with which TsNIIMash was involved in the implementation of a joint project.



Representatives of all Russian universities approached by University World News refused to comment publicly on the order and restrictions imposed on their activities.



But off the record some of them said that if they made any comments regarding this topic, they could face sanctions from their university managements, who in turn are under serious pressure from the state.



Commenting on the criticism by representatives of Russia’s scientific and university community, a spokesman of the ministry’s press service claimed that in fact the document “has a non-regulatory origin and reflects the global practice of interaction of scientists throughout the world”.



A spokesman of the ministry said: “These recommendations are primarily aimed at analysing the existing indicators of the development of international relations of Russia with foreign countries, including as part of ‘Nauka’ and other similar projects.



“It has nothing to do with the implementation of any monitoring and control from the state of the activities of organisations that are currently under the jurisdiction of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.”



The spokesman of the press service, however, added that professors of many Russian universities also face restrictions during visits to various scientific organisations and similar organisations, primarily in West. Russian scientists and university professors are protesting against Soviet era-style controls over their contact with foreign colleagues as the government moves to implement a controversial order from the Ministry of Education and Science, approved in July, which imposed serious restrictions on their foreign activities.The scientists, many of whom represent some leading Russian universities, made an official statement on 19 November during the last meeting at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), demanding that the Russian government cancel the existing order on the grounds that a “free exchange of scientific ideas” is an important condition for the development of science in Russia.“The legislation of the Russian Federation imposes lots of restrictions on scientists working on some closed issues. But additional restrictions are not allowed. In this regard, the RAS General Assembly insists on cancelling the order.”The order, which was officially sent by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science to various domestic scientific organisations and higher education institutions back in July, was aimed at regulating the way in which they interact and cooperate with foreign scientific organisations and universities, including during the hosting of foreign scientists visiting Russia.These instructions require scientific organisations to inform the government about any planned meeting with foreign colleagues five days in advance, providing a list of participants of such meetings.Each of such meetings must involve the participation of at least two Russian scientists. Moreover, any contact with foreigners outside working hours would be possible only with the permission of the management of relevant universities.After the meetings have been conducted, scientists must complete a report describing the conversation and attach scans of participants’ passports to it.Finally, during such meetings Russian scientists are allowed to use “means of processing and storing information” such as telephones, watches, binoculars and tape recorders, only in cases stipulated by the international treaties of Russia.The anachronistic references suggested the wording had been lifted from Soviet era documents.While the Russian government refused to clarify the reasons for the order, some domestic analysts, as well as representatives of some leading domestic universities, suggested the decision was related to some recent cases of disclosure of classified information by Russian scientists to some Western research institutions, which the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) alleged could be affiliated to the CIA and MI6.An example of this is the case of Viktor Kudryavtsev, an employee of the Central Scientific Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering (TsNIIMash), who was arrested in July 2018. According to investigators, he sent classified data to Belgium’s Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, with which TsNIIMash was involved in the implementation of a joint project.Representatives of all Russian universities approached byrefused to comment publicly on the order and restrictions imposed on their activities.But off the record some of them said that if they made any comments regarding this topic, they could face sanctions from their university managements, who in turn are under serious pressure from the state.Commenting on the criticism by representatives of Russia’s scientific and university community, a spokesman of the ministry’s press service claimed that in fact the document “has a non-regulatory origin and reflects the global practice of interaction of scientists throughout the world”.A spokesman of the ministry said: “These recommendations are primarily aimed at analysing the existing indicators of the development of international relations of Russia with foreign countries, including as part of ‘Nauka’ and other similar projects.“It has nothing to do with the implementation of any monitoring and control from the state of the activities of organisations that are currently under the jurisdiction of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.”The spokesman of the press service, however, added that professors of many Russian universities also face restrictions during visits to various scientific organisations and similar organisations, primarily in West. Follow University World News on Facebook



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