"We, scientists and science journalists working in Russia, strongly protest against the military invasion of Ukraine launched by the Russian army" a week ago, they wrote in a letter published by the site trv-science.ru news.
The more than 6,900 signatories of this letter expose themselves to fines or imprisonment under legislation adopted a few years ago which authorizes the Russian authorities to prosecute any citizen who criticizes the government.
And this week, the Russian parliament began discussing a bill toughening sanctions against criticism of the war in Ukraine.
"Humanistic values are the foundation on which science is built. The many years spent reinforcing Russia's reputation as a leading center of mathematics have been entirely scuttled by the unprecedented military aggression carried out by our country", lament the scientists.
The International Congress of Mathematicians, the "most prestigious mathematics conference in the world" which was to be held in Russia in July, has notably been canceled, they point out, denouncing a "rogue state".
According to them, the goal of becoming a great scientific nation "cannot be achieved when the lives of our closest colleagues - scientists in Ukraine - are in danger because of the Russian military".
"We are convinced that no geopolitical interest can justify the deaths and bloodshed. War will only lead to the total loss of our country, for which we work", they add.
© 2022 AFP