Russia Tells Its Scientists to Steer Clear of Foreigners
With rules like this, Putin’s goal of reviving the glory of Soviet science is hardly achievable.
Remember Soviet science? Putin does.
Photographer: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
The Russian government wants the country’s academics to win back the prestige they used to enjoy in Soviet times – but also to submit to restrictions similar to those in place in the Soviet Union. Neither is likely.
Earlier this week, Alexander Fradkov, a St. Petersburg cyberneticist, revealed that the Russian Science Ministry had sent around to research centers a set of draconian instructions, adopted back in February. The rules, approved by the minister, Mikhail Kotyukov, regulate contacts between Russian and foreign academics. They require the Russians to inform the ministry in advance about meeting plans and, after the fact, about the content of the conversations. A scientist’s private meetings with foreign colleagues outside of working hours require permission from his or her research center’s management. An especially absurd rule appears to require Russian research organizations to take away visiting foreign colleagues’ electronic devices, including watches.