Moscow (AFP)

Russian scientists are being monitored "24 hours a day" by foreign spies, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, while anger rages among researchers worried about new restrictions of "Soviet" character in their contacts with the outside world.

In a decree, the Ministry of Education and Research recommends in particular a strengthening of the control of meetings in which foreigners participate and a limitation of the presence of these in the premises of institutes and their use of electronic devices.

It is also required that any appointments made outside working hours with a colleague from another country should obtain prior authorization from management and be reported.

Russian researchers have denounced "absurd and unrealistic" measures that will "increase the isolation" of Russia and hinder their work. They fear a return to the Soviet era, when scientists could not talk to their foreign colleagues unless they were accompanied by a third party.

Deputy Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexei Khokhlov, said on Wednesday that the recommendations go against the authorities' goal of attracting more foreign students to universities and facilitating their hiring. Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he must "be vigilant" because "the foreign intelligence services are on alert."

"Scientific and industrial espionage exists, it operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and it targets our scientists, especially young people," he told reporters, while acknowledging that some of the recommendations contained in the report decree could "seem excessive".

The Ministry of Education and Research ensures that the decree "reflects a global practice" in the behavior of foreign scientists.

The Russian scientific community has been concerned for years about the growing influence of powerful security services on their work. Several researchers have been convicted of "high treason" or "espionage" in controversial cases.

© 2019 AFP