"Science politicization" .. How does the West use science as a weapon in confronting Russia?

During the early days of March 2022, Russian researcher Vadim Bateev received a letter from the Journal of molecular structure stating that the paper he had just reviewed, no matter how valid or suitable for publication, might Banned by the magazine because it currently does not publish any research papers of Russian scientists, Bateev published the message on his account on the Facebook platform, which caused a great controversy among researchers around the world.

This was followed by a clarification from the journal (1) of its position in a press release in which it said that it had stopped looking at research written by scientists working in the institutions of the Russian Federation, and not Russian scientists in general, meaning that any Russian scientist working in a non-Russian institution is welcome to publish in the journal "The editors believe that this decision respects the principles of 'fair play', as it is not based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship or political philosophy, but rather on human concerns," she added in her statement.

The argument of those in charge of the magazine is simple, that the Russian scientific institutions receive funding from the Russian administration that manages this war, and because of it they are now facing various economic sanctions, and under these sanctions, the refusal to publish research from Russian research institutions is justified.

"This policy will continue until hostilities are over and refugees (regardless of nationality) are safely returned to their homes and families," the magazine concludes.

deny my research

From the first moment of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian scientists repeatedly appealed to editors of research journals almost all over the world to impose sanctions on Russian scientists by refusing to publish their research, but editors and publishers largely refused the call, citing (2) a well-established principle of scientific publishing. It is not to discriminate against authors on the basis of their nationality or political opinions.

This principle took hold for decades during the Cold War, when magazine editors welcomed papers from authors in the Soviet Union.

Currently, the Journal of Molecular Structure, from publishing giant Elsevier, is the only journal reported to be boycotting studies from Russia, but it has gone beyond the journals to research institutions in more than one case.

For example, a group of Germany's largest research funders (3), including the German Research Foundation, decided to freeze all forms of scientific cooperation with Russia.

In a statement issued on February 25, the group said that research funds in Germany will not benefit Russia, and that it understands the consequences of these actions, while at the same time deeply regrets their impact on science.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge has terminated its relationship (4) with the Skolkovo Foundation, a Moscow-based non-profit organization focused on innovation. His great appreciation for the Russian people and his deep appreciation for the contributions of Russian scientists, but he stressed that "the war in Ukraine and the casualties it caused are greater than everything."

In a statement on March 11, the Canadian government (5) said it was asking federal funding agencies and several major grant recipients to “refrain from entering into agreements with Russian research institutions.”

At the same time, the government said it was setting up a special fund to support research interns from Ukraine along the lines of the current refugee program run by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Simultaneously, many Canadian universities have already started planning to welcome new Ukrainian students, in addition to supporting students already in the country.

But in most disciplines, Canada is not a major scientific collaborator with Russia, so this political blow may not affect Russia much. Organizations are really heavy in their specialties.

strong blows

CERN pauses future research collaboration with Russia at Ukrainian scientists' request https://t.co/Mhwq8KQjgP pic.twitter.com/45LuB7VtOW

— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) March 8, 2022

The Council of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) stated in a recent statement (6) that the 23 member states of the Council condemn in the strongest terms the military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, and that the Council agreed to support Ukrainian collaborators in high energy physics, suspend Russia's status and not The start of a new cooperation with Russian institutions.

Russian scientists make up about 8% of CERN's staff of about 12,000 researchers.

CERN is the largest research institution in high energy physics in the world, so these measures may have a strong political impact, but on the other hand, Russian researchers (meaning the scientists themselves) who are not participating in the war, nor in making its decision, will be clearly harmed by Decisions like this, some of them are still in their early research age and need data from CERN experiments in order to continue their research work.

In addition, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced, in an official statement on February 28, that after the meeting of member states, the launch of the ExoMars mission, which aims to explore Mars this year, will be “highly unlikely.” (7) The agency said it deplores the casualties and the tragic consequences of the war in Ukraine, and that its decisions take into account not only its workforce, but “European values.”

This was the third time that the mission's launch had been delayed, as its original launch date was in 2018, and it appears that it may never launch if the turmoil in the relationship between Russia and the West continues.

The cost of "Exo Mars" has reached 1.4 billion dollars so far, and thousands of researchers participate in it, whether by implementing or submitting research proposals.

This is not the first time that the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia have affected forms of European-Russian cooperation in space science, as the Russian agency withdrew its staff from the European Space Agency's main spaceport at Kourou in French Guiana.

In addition, the Russian Soyuz rockets that the European Space Agency uses for medium-sized launches have stopped, and the agency is already studying the possibility of converting its missions to missiles from other countries.

The war of research institutions

⚡ Госкорпорация не будет сотрудничать с Германией по совместным экспериментам на роснсийском. семегем сегем

Роскосмос проведет их самостоятельно.

⚡ Российская космическая программа на фоне санкций будет скорректирована, приоритетон станет уверове теров станет уверовен станет уверове скорректирована программа на фоне санкций будет скорректирована

https://t.co/zl7CRNstGG

— РОСКОСМОС (@roscosmos) March 3, 2022

On the other hand, Russia strikes as well. On March 3, the Russian Space Agency announced that it had canceled (8) joint scientific experiments scheduled to be conducted on the International Space Station in cooperation with Germany, a statement that arrived on the same day that Dmitry Rogozin announced, The Director-General of the Agency, that Russia will stop - for the time being at least - its space cooperation with the United States.

In his speech, the director said that Russia would no longer provide rocket engines to the United States, would not provide maintenance, and suggested instead that America use "brooms" to power itself in space.

It all came just days after Russia indicated it might no longer help power the International Space Station.

This could result in the station being shut down before its 2031 end date.

But it seems that the Ukrainians are winning in this war, and their official demands are launched from all sides to isolate the Russians completely from the global scientific path, justifying their requests that these measures may speed up stopping the Russian war on Ukraine, when the Russians feel that the world pronounces them economically and scientifically, and even Mathematically, they might think again.

Russian scientists condemn the "invasion of Ukraine" #PutinsWar in #Ukraine #War #Putin pic.twitter.com/fGaroe3XDQ

— Eu Debate (@eurodebate) March 9, 2022

On the other side of this situation, a large team of Russian researchers is standing in this war that has no elegance or camel in this war, which he did not participate in or support, and says that hostility to the Russian administration is not supposed to be hostility to the Russian people, this team is personally affected by what is happening, but rather that Some of these researchers may be rejecting the war on Ukraine in the first place.

In fact, a number of Russian scientists (9) have drafted an open letter condemning the foolish attack and warning of its repercussions on the Russian scientific community and their international cooperation. The number of scientists who have signed this letter is currently approaching 5,000.

And between these and those, a third group of scholars stands, who were told before that presenting their political issues in research institutions is incorrect, and they stopped before their calls to remind the world only of their political problems, arguing that science should not be mixed with politics, and that it transcends geographical borders and geopolitical problems to the horizons of freedom knowledge Exchange.

These researchers from countries such as Palestine or other countries of the world that have suffered greatly with the war and occupation are now watching science mix with politics everywhere.

In any case, it is likely that what is happening now will completely change the nature of the relationship between science and politics in the contemporary world, other than that it will shake the image of scientific institutions as politically neutral institutions.

We cannot now expect all the consequences of this transformation, but it is certain that its effects will touch all the scientific, academic and related circles, sooner or later.

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