Russia introduces FSB control over science: how the law will limit research

According to hvylya.net: In Russia, a law on FSB control over international scientific cooperation came into effect on September 1. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.

All civil research, including those involving foreign scientists or organizations, must now be approved by the security service.

Anxiety is growing in the Russian scientific community: any publication in a foreign journal can be interpreted as 'transmission of information to a foreign state'. Scientists speak of an increasing self-censorship and paranoia in international contacts due to the uncertainty of the rules. The law has effectively turned Russian science into another domain of total FSB control,' the intelligence agency noted.

At the same time, projects from the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Guard, Ministry of Emergency Situations, and Federal Medical and Biological Agency are excluded from the single database that will be controlled by the FSB. Thus, only civil research - of philologists, economists, medical professionals and other scientists - is under surveillance.

The law on FSB control over international scientific ties in Russia raises concerns in the scientific community and may limit the flexibility and development of science in the country.