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Russian Scientists Squeezed by Sanctions, Kremlin Policies
by Associated Press
Artur Bilsky's Institute of Thermophysics recently sought to buy
equipment from a Japanese company that was a routine purchase a few
years ago. The request was turned down "categorically,'' said Bilsky, a
researcher at the institute.
Hundreds of other Russian scientists are reporting similar experiences
of being refused sale of scientific equipment from abroad, or seeing
research papers curtly turned down by Western publications. The reason,
they believe, is a combination of sanctions against Russia over its
actions in Ukraine and rising hostility to Russia in the West seeping
into the scientific community.
Since Russia annexed Crimea last year, it has become almost impossible
for scientists in Russia to buy anything in the United States or Japan
that has a dual purpose, said physicist Alexander Shilov, who works in
the Institute of Laser Physics in Russia's scientific hub of
Akademgorodok, or Academy Town -- part of Russia's third-largest city
of Novosibirsk.
"Due to the sanctions'' or "the conflict in Ukraine'' are the most
common explanations Shilov hears for refusing orders from Russia. "When
they sell a piece of glass, how do they know whether we will use it in
a military laser or a medical one?'' he said.
Western companies spooked by sanctions
The U.S. and EU sanctions were designed to halt exports to the Russian
defense sector. When announcing a new round of sanctions in July 2014,
the European Union noted specifically that they "should not affect the
exports of dual-use goods and technology'' to Russia for "non-military
use.'' In reality, many Western companies were so spooked by the
sanctions and the penalties they could face for violating them that the
door was shut completely, the scientists say.
An American scholar who works with Russian universities -- and asked to
be unnamed because he was not authorized to speak on his university's
behalf -- confirmed that his Russian counterparts are having
difficulties with Western companies. In some cases, he said, companies
are saying they fear that the equipment might get slapped with
sanctions while it is being delivered, or that they no longer have
support staff in Russia to service it.
What's more, foreign-made equipment is now less affordable for Russian
scientists because of the depreciation in the Russian ruble, which lost
nearly half of its value since the Crimean annexation.
The scientists' plight has been compounded by the Kremlin's own
crackdown on Russian private funding of science, stemming from
suspicions of Western influence.
Dynasty foundation
The government this year labeled the Dynasty foundation, Russia's
largest source of private funding for science, a "foreign agent'' --
which makes the group vulnerable to an array of surprise checks and
audits. It is a Cold War term that carries connotations of spying. The
foundation fell afoul of the officialdom because its Russian founder
funds the organization from money transferred from his foreign bank
accounts.
''"If Dynasty was named a foreign agent, then everyone who had
contracts with Dynasty is an accomplice of a foreign agent,'' said
Shilov. "We are all spies now.''
The government has become increasingly suspicious of foreign-funded
non-governmental organizations, seeing them as potential agents of a
hostile West. Russia has brushed off the sanctions imposed by the
United States and European Union, saying that Russia has plenty of
resources to replace banned imports with its own production.
The Russian government denied the scandal involving Dynasty is aimed at
persecuting Russian scientists. Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov
said Dynasty was receiving funds from abroad and therefore should be
listed as a foreign agent.
But the sanctions have taken a toll, especially on scientists whose
research hinges on access to Western-made materials and high-tech
equipment. And several scientists told The Associated Press that since
the March 2014 annexation of Crimea, publication of their articles in
Western journals either has been delayed or turned down, with no
explanation.
Scientific publications
Editors and publishers at several U.S.-based scientific journals told
The AP that they assess articles without any bias related to the
geographic location of authors, or geopolitical concerns. They added
that they have seen no evidence among their editors or reviewers to
support the Russian scientists' claims.
"All papers are treated the same regardless of the nation they were
submitted from.'' said William Kearney at the Washington-based National
Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which publishes the
PNAS journal.
Scientists who have lived or worked in Akademgorodok for more than 15
years are particularly distressed because life had been getting better
for them recently, after years struggling with almost no funding after
the chaotic 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. They recall how the
cash-strapped Russian government in the 1990s largely left its
world-class scientists to their own devices: Some packed their bags for
university jobs abroad, and some had to sell goods at the market or
grow their vegetables to survive the long Siberian winter, with wages
regularly delayed for months.
Young men fled Akademgorodok for better paid jobs elsewhere, leaving
the scientific hub in the hands of scientists close to retirement age
who had few prospects of alternative employment.
"When I graduated 10 years ago, a significant number of my classmates
went abroad, a significant number opened their own businesses and about
20 percent of graduates, at best, stayed to work in research,'' said
Shilov.
Gone are the days when the scientists of Akademgorodok, which was built
in a Siberian forest clearing in 1957, were forced to take jobs as bus
drivers or market sellers to eke out a living. Over the past 15 years,
Russia's federal spending on scientific research increased 20-fold to
350 billion rubles ($6.3 billion) this year. Bilsky, 38, who has worked
at his institute since 1997, has witnessed the transformation.
"If you stand at the entrance here and see who comes in and comes out,
you'll see there will be a lot of young employees. Many young
scientists can afford a car and vacation,'' he said.
Politics clouding scientific horizon
The average monthly salary of scientists across Russia rose from 2,700
rubles in 2000 to 32,600 rubles last year, now worth about $600 after
the sharp fall of the ruble. The relative rise in fortunes has turned
Akademgorodok into a charming suburb filled with 30-somethings, where
young women push children in prams and smart coffee houses cater to a
younger generation.
Now politics is again clouding the scientific horizon. Dynasty was
planning to distribute nearly $8 million this year in grants and
scholarships. But after the Justice Ministry ordered it to register as
a foreign agent, founder Dmitry Zimin and its board decided this month
to shut it down in protest over the stigma.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he was sorry
to hear that the foundation was closing down but insisted that no one
forced it to do so.
The onslaught on the foundation has enraged many in Akademgorodok who
have relied on its funding. Andrei Shchetnikov, who coaches the
national youth physics team, said Dynasty has been covering half of the
1 million ruble budget for the annual Tournament of Young Physicists in
Novosibirsk.
"For the projects that Dynasty supported, it was often the only steady
financing they were getting,'' Shchetnikov said.
While confident that he'll find other sources of funding, he said more
than money was at stake.
"What Dynasty has been doing ought to make the country proud,''
Shchetnikov said. "We have citizens who have made a fortune and
understand that you need to support education projects -- and that it's
the future of Russia.''
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ons-kremlin-policies/2870137.html
References
1. http://www.voanews.com/content/russian-scientists-squeezed-by-sanctions-kremlin-policies/2870137.html