Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has resulted in huge losses in the educational and scientific sector. The Russian leadership succeeded in expelling hundreds of thousands of highly educated people from the country. “The country has never had such losses,” complains the dean of the Faculty of Economics at Moscow’s Lomonosov University, Alexander Ausan. It will take at least 7 to 10 years to offset this brain drain, and only if it doesn’t continue, the renowned economist said.

IT specialists, managers, journalists, professors and scientists are among the specialties that have moved abroad. The international academic network “Scholars at Risk” has taken more than 200 Russian scientists abroad since the beginning of the war, while the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enabled 6 scientists to receive funding in Germany. In addition, thousands of prominent scholars fled on their own as they opposed the war or feared conscription.

Maria Falikman is one of them. She herself is one of Russia’s most renowned psychologists and until last year was teaching and doing research at Moscow’s HSE University. In the summer, however, she packed her things and moved to the USA. “I found it difficult to stay in Russia under the increasing propaganda and ideological pressure,” he told the German News Agency (dpa). In her field alone, half of the HSE university’s scientific staff has fled the country, she points out.

Various reasons force scientists to flee

The war opened up big funding gaps as spending on research and science fell by a third this year. Professors complain about late payments, obtaining equipment and laboratory materials is much more difficult, and international sanctions have isolated Russian scientists, who can no longer publish or refer to the results of their colleagues. Consequently, the lack of academic prospects led them to leave the country.

The political pressure exerted is another reason for the flight of scientists. HSE Moscow University since its foundation has been one of the most liberal and leading research institutes in the country. The new rector, however, named Nikita Anisimov, was one of the first scientists to openly support the war through a letter sent to the university, whose critics were fired.

Almost all scientific fields in the country are affected, especially the humanities as there is a widespread alteration of political views. Anyone who does not teach and write in a patriotic enough way should fear not only for their job but for their freedom. Clusters of topics become taboo, which has an impact on what studies are allowed or not.

Research at the altar of military equipment

Other disciplines continue to offer the possibility of an apolitical position but here too there are priorities and risks. The natural sciences have been put to the service of the military. The government is increasingly awarding grants for equipment-related research projects. The Russian president last February honored an employee of a military research institute for “testing technologies for complex technical devices that ensure the country’s defense capability.”

Nevertheless, the fear of being considered a spy is widespread. In 2022, three lawsuits were filed against scientists for allegedly leaking secrets. Well-known physicist Dimitri Kolker has been arrested by the secret services, as he is said to have revealed state secrets during lectures in China, although their content had previously been vetted and approved by security agencies. Kolker died a few days after his arrest.

Censorship and a growing sense of fear are barriers to scientific knowledge. Under these conditions only conformists and lobbyists can make a career. In autumn 2022, the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAdW) was reappointed. Gennady Krasnikov, who has close ties to the Kremlin, replaced Alexander Sergeyev.

As during the period of communism in the Soviet Union, beliefs true to the party line are more important than scientific expertise. The director of the Institute of Genetics, Alexander Kudryachev, who also belongs to the RAdW, recently showed what this can lead to. Speaking at the “scientific-theological conference”, he explained that before the flood, people lived an average of 900 years. Because of original sin, genetic diseases arose and the human lifespan was reduced to its present level. He himself with his words caused horror even among Russians who do not have a higher education.