ANALYTICAL REPORT

International Academic Collaboration with Russian War Supporters

Alex Plastun

Sumy State University

Inna Makarenko

Sumy State University

University of Helsinki

August 2024

*This note highlights how international organizations, including publishers, scientometric databases, and others, collaborate with Russian entities that actively support the war against Ukraine.*
# 1. Introduction

In response to the unprovoked aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, numerous sanctions have been implemented targeting Russian entities and individuals across various sectors, including the military, economy, culture, sports, and science. Currently, over 19,000 sanctions are active against Russia, marking the highest number in history. Russia now faces more than three times as many sanctions as Iran and over five times as many as Syria or North Korea.

Despite these extensive sanctions, the Russian academic sphere remains relatively unaffected, often under the principle that "science is out of politics." Consequently, some Russian journals and academicians have been able to use science as a propaganda platform and a tool for the military purposes, while international organizations continue to collaborate with Russian academic entities that support or justify the actions against Ukraine.

This report focuses on the international collaboration within the academic sphere with Russian entities that have expressed support for the aggression against Ukraine. We aim to address the following related issues:

* Forms of active war support from Russian academic organizations;

* Public statements by Russian academic institutions and academicians in support of actions against Ukraine;

* Examples of active war support from Russian academic organizations;

* Analysis of international collaboration with Russian organizations that support the war.

# 2. Forms of active war support from Russian academic organizations

Forms of active war support by Russian academic organizations:

* **Public Statements:** Notable examples include the Russian Rectors' letter and statements by the Russian Academy of Sciences and its Presidium. The Academic Council of Lomonosov Moscow State University also issued a statement in support of the war, along with individual academicians from different academic institutions such as Saint Petersburg State University.

* **Material Support:** Russian academic organizations provide material support for the military efforts.

* **Propaganda Promotion:** Russian academic institutions actively promote narratives related to the conflict.
* **Collaborative Research:** Russian academic institutions engage in research collaborations with military entities, focusing on developing technologies or methodologies that can be directly applied to military efforts.

* **Recruitment and Training:** Facilitating the recruitment and training of students and researchers for roles within the military or defense industries.

* **Funding Allocation:** Directing funds and resources towards projects with clear military applications or that support military efforts.

* **Publication Bias:** Publishing and promoting research that justifies or supports military actions while suppressing or discrediting dissenting viewpoints.

* **Educational Programs:** Developing and implementing educational programs that align with the Russian propaganda and military objectives.

* **Event Hosting:** Organizing conferences, symposiums, and other events that promote military-related research and propaganda of war.

Below, we will provide real-life examples of each form.

Key public statement in support of Russian aggression against Ukraine from Russian academic institutions and academicians are provided in Appendix A. Additional information could be found in Nazarovets and Teixeira da Silva (2022).

Examples of other forms of active support of the war against Ukraine from Russian academic organizations are presented in Table 1.

<table><caption>Table 1. Examples of other forms of active support of the war against Ukraine from the Russian academic organizations</caption><thead><tr><td>Form of Collaboration</td><td>War supporter</td><td>Examples</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2">Material Support</td><td>Russian Academy of Sciences</td><td>RAS academicians raised 32 million rubles for Russian combatants in Ukraine<br><a href="https://smotrim.ru/video/2829041">https://smotrim.ru/video/2829041</a></td></tr><tr><td>Ufa Institute of Chemistry</td><td>Employees of the Ufa Institute of Chemistry of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with the NGO "Reliable Rear of Bashkortostan", organized a volunteer movement aimed at helping Russian soldiers in Ukraine.<br><a href="http://ufaras.ru/?p=23659">http://ufaras.ru/?p=23659</a></td></tr><tr><td>Direct help in annexation of Ukrainian</td><td>Lomonosov Moscow State University</td><td>The President of the Russian Union of Rectors, Rector of Moscow University V.A. Sadovnichy, spoke at the opening of the First Forum of Educational Organizations of Russia, the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, which is taking place</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table>
   <tr>
    <td>territories</td>
    <td></td>
    <td>in Rostov-on-Don from June 3 to 5. Its goal is to facilitate the rapid integration of universities of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic into the educational space of the Russian Federation.<br/>https://msu.ru/news/novosti-mgu/pervyy-forum-obrazovatelnykh-organizatsiy-rossii-ibdonbassa.html?phrase_id=3851830</td>
   </tr>
   <tr>
    <td>Propaganda</td>
    <td>Lomonosov Moscow State University</td>
    <td>On March 28, 2023, at the invitation of the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Professor of the Department of History and Theory of Politics, Faculty of Political Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University I.I. Kuznetsov gave a lecture on the specifics of conducting a "Special Military Operation" (this is how Russian officials call the war against Ukraine)<br/>https://polit.msu.ru/2023/03/29/i-i-kuznecov-prochital-lekciyubob-osoben/</td>
   </tr>
   <tr>
    <td>Collaborative Research</td>
    <td>Russian Academy of Sciences</td>
    <td>The head of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Krasnikov, said that the Russian Academy of Sciences is currently implementing the "military" part of the fundamental scientific research program, designed for 2021-2030. Krasnikov claims that the program was drawn up in cooperation with designers of military equipment. He specified that the Russian Academy of Sciences "is in the thick of all these events." Funding for the sixth subprogram, "Fundamental and exploratory scientific research in the interests of national defence and state security" began at the end of 2023.<br/>https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/6507705<br/>The Russian Academy of Sciences has explained how Russian science is helping the military in the war against Ukraine. The head of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Krasnikov, announced the creation of unique bulletproof vests for the army in the war against Ukraine<br/>https://lenta.ru/news/2024/02/10/unikalnye-bronezhilety-ime metodiki-reabilitatsii-ranenyh-v-ran-rasskazali-kak-rossiyskayanauka-pomogaet-voennym-na-svo/</td>
   </tr>
   <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td>Joint institute for nuclear research</td>
    <td>Production of track membranes used for portable water filters for military workers<br/>https://www.jinr.ru/wp-content/uploads/Brochures/JINR_A4_brochure_business_rus.pdf and https://reatrack.ru/</td>
   </tr>
   <tr>
    <td>Recruitment and Training</td>
    <td>Russian Academy of Sciences</td>
    <td>Rector of the University Viktor Sadovnichy: "This year we accepted 115 [applicants] - these are the children of those who participated in the military actions, and those who participated themselves. Another hundred, or even several, we transfer from other universities, if they ask, from universities in new territories or other universities, we also transfer them, despite the lack of places,"</td>
   </tr>
  </table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>Joint institute for nuclear research</td><td>https://msu.ru/press/smiaboutmsu/mgu-prinyal-v-etom-godu-115-abiturientov-uchastnikov-svo-i-ikh-detey.html?phrase_id=3851831<br>https://msu.ru/press/smiaboutmsu/prishla-khoroshaya-smena-v-moskve-proshla-onlayn-press-konferentsiya-rektora-mgu-im-m-v-lomonosova-a.html?phrase_id=3851831<br>Trains specialists for the EDB (Engineering Design Bureau) "Raduga" (specializes in the development and production of cruise missiles for various purposes)<br>https://www.jinr.ru/posts/post_4341/</td></tr><tr><td>Funding Allocation</td><td>Russian Science Foundation</td><td>The projects supported by the Foundation will be implemented by teams of young scientists in more than 230 organizations from 50 Russian regions, including the Zaporizhia region and the Donetsk People's Republic.<br>https://www.rscf.ru/en/news/en-57/5-5-billion-awarded-for-641-new-projects-of-early-career-researchers/</td></tr><tr><td>Publication Bias</td><td>MGIMO University</td><td>New history textbooks with an operation in Ukraine were presented in Moscow. The goal of the military operation in Ukraine is stated in the textbook as "the defence of Donbas and the preemptive provision of Russia's security."<br>https://www.rbc.ru/politics/07/08/2023/64d1016a9a794763ffc7a6b63</td></tr><tr><td>Educational Programs</td><td>Dubna State University</td><td>A new 2-year program was launched in 2023 to train 30 engineers per year for the Kronstadt drone production plant in Dubna<br>https://dmzdubna.ru/about/news/v-dubne-sostoyalos-torzhestvennoe-otkrytie-shkoly-inzhenerov-kronshtadta/</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Institute of Physics Named After P.N. Lebedev of the Russian Academy of Sciences</td><td>From November 25 to December 6, 2023, the Winter School on Financial Security was held, attended by students of grades 9-11 from different regions of the Russian Federation, including the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. More than half of the participants represented "new territories".<br>https://www.lebedev.ru/ru/smi-o-nas/2023/57-dekabr-2023/4154-18-12-2023-rossijskaya-akademiya-nauk-itogi-pervoj-zimnej-shkoly-po-finansovoj-bezopasnosti-v-siriuse.html</td></tr><tr><td>Event Hosting</td><td>Petrozavodsk State University</td><td>Meeting with a Russian combatant at the Institute of Foreign Languages. He told the students in detail about the combat routine of a Russian army soldier on the front line, told them about the tasks that he and his comrades had to perform, and the risks that combatants face every minute.<br>https://petrsu.ru/news/2024/132462/vstretcha-s-boitsom-</td></tr></table>
In order to show that support for aggression against Ukraine from the Russian academic organizations is a typical behavior we have explorer Top 10 Russian universities in terms of publication activity (based on data from Scopus) as of 2024. In 10 cases of 10 we have found examples of their support for aggression against Ukraine. In 9 cases of 10 Universities signed so-called Rector's letter. Details are provided in Appendix B.

Selected Cases of International Collaboration with Russian Organizations-supporters of War

Springer

Springer Nature publishes (directly/indirectly) up to 200 Russian journals. Most of them are founded and belong to the RAS.

In Table 2 just some examples are provided

<table><caption>Table 2. Russian RAS journals published by Springer</caption><thead><tr><td>#</td><td>Springer title (link)</td><td>Russian analogue directly related to the RAS (link)</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>"Applied Magnetic Resonance" https://link.springer.com/journal/723/editors</td><td>"Applied Magnetic Resonance" editorial office is situated at the Zavoisky Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences https://kfti.knc.ru/eng/amr/</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>"Astronomy Reports" https://link.springer.com/journal/1144 4/editors</td><td>"Астрономический журнал" https://new.ras.ru/work/publishing/journals/astron omicheskiy-zhurnal/</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>"Astrophysical Bulletin" (https://link.springer.com/journal/117 55/editors</td><td>Астрофизический бюллетень https://www.sao.ru/Doc- k8/Science/Public/Bulletin/</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>"Atmospheric and Oceanic Optics" (https://link.springer.com/journal/126 05/editors</td><td>"Оптика атмосферы и океана" (https://www.sibran.ru/journals/OptAiO/).</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>"Automation and Remote Control" (https://link.springer.com/journal/105 13/editors</td><td>"Автоматика и телемеханика" http://ait.mtas.ru/ru/about/data.php</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>"Biochemistry (Moscow)" (https://link.springer.com/journal/105 41/editors</td><td>"Биохимия" (https://biochemistrymoscow.com/ru/about/)</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>"Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Physics" (https://link.springer.com/journal/119 54/editors</td><td>Известия Российской академии наук. Серия физическая https://izv-fiz.ru/ru/about/</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>"Cell and Tissue Biology" (https://link.springer.com/journal/118</td><td>"Цитология" (http://tsitologiya.incras.ru/).</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>21/editors</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Colloid Journal"<br/>(https://link.springer.com/journal/10595/editors</td><td>“Коллоидный журнал”<br/>(https://colljour.phyche.ac.ru/).</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Combustion, Explosion, and Shock Waves"<br/>(https://link.springer.com/journal/10573/editors</td><td>Физика горения и взрыва"<br/>(https://www.sibran.ru/journals/FGV/)</td></tr></table>

We have stopped on letter “C” because the number of cases when Springer publishes RAS journals exceeds 100 items.

By the way, “Applied Magnetic Resonance” is a journal of Zavoisky Physical-Technical Institute which belongs to the Federal State budgetary institution of science federal research center Kazan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This institution has been placed on SDN-list by OFAC (https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=44084). As can be seen, even the OFAC SDN-list doesn't scare Springer Nature and can't prevent the collaboration.

<table><caption>Table 3. Russian journals directly affiliated with Universities signed the Rector's letter published by Springer</caption><thead><tr><td>#</td><td>Springer title (link)</td><td>Original Russian journal directly affiliated with Universities signed Rector's letter (link)</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>“Chemical and Petroleum Engineering”<br/>https://link.springer.com/journal/10556</td><td>Химическое и нефтегазовое машиностроение<br/>Moscow Polytechnic University<br/>(http://himnef.ru/editor.html)</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>“Algebra and Logic”<br/>(https://link.springer.com/journal/10469)</td><td>“Алгебра и логика”<br/>Novosibirsk State University<br/>https://alglog.org/alglog.html</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>“Computational Mathematics and Modeling”<br/>(https://link.springer.com/journal/10598/editors</td><td>Прикладная математика и информатика<br/>Moscow State University<br/>https://cs.msu.ru/science/journals/prikl-matem-informat</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Differential Equations<br/>https://link.springer.com/journal/10625/editors</td><td>Дифференциальные уравнения<br/>Lomonosov Moscow State University<br/>http://web.pleiades.online/ru/journal/deqrus/</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>“Lobachevskii Journal of Mathematics”<br/>(https://link.springer.com/journal/12202/editors</td><td>“Lobachevskii Journal of Mathematics”<br/>Kazan State University (https://ljm.kpfu.ru/)</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>“Moscow University Biological Sciences Bulletin”<br/>(https://link.springer.com/journal/11966/editors</td><td>“Вестник Московского университета. Серия 16. Биология”<br/>Lomonosov Moscow State University<br/>(https://bio.msu.ru/science/moscow-</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td></td><td>university-biological-sciences-bulletin/)</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>"Moscow University Chemistry Bulletin" (https://link.springer.com/journal/11967/editors</td><td>"Вестник МГУ. Серия "Химия""<br>Lomonosov Moscow State University<br>(https://www.chem.msu.su/rus/vmgu/welco me.html</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>"Moscow University Geology Bulletin" (https://link.springer.com/journal/11969/editors</td><td>"Вестник Московского университета. Серия 4. Геология"<br>Lomonosov Moscow State University<br>https://vestnik.geol.msu.ru/jour</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Moscow University Soil Science Bulletin" (https://link.springer.com/journal/11973/editors</td><td>«Вестник Московского университета. Серия 17. Почвоведение»<br>Lomonosov Moscow State University<br>https://msu-soil-journal.ru/en/about/).</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>"Refractories and Industrial Ceramics" (https://link.springer.com/journal/11148/editors)</td><td>«Новые огнеупоры»<br>the National University of Science and Technology MISIS<br>https://misis.ru/university/struktura- universiteta/offices/science- office/scientificjournals/</td></tr></table>

Also, Springer collaborates with the State Corporation "Rosatom" (seized Zaporizhzhia NPP and threatens not only Ukraine, but other world with nuclear blackmail). The Russian Journal "Атомная энергия" (https://j-atomicenergy.ru/index.php/ae), which is published by Springer Nature as "Atomic Energy" (https://link.springer.com/journal/10512).

## Scopus (Elsevier)

Scopus is indexing up to 800 Russian journals. During 2022-2023 Scopus has added 77 new Russian journals in indexation.

Of 77 newly added Russian journals to Scopus from 2022 to 2023, 19 were founded and published by the universities signed a famous Rector's letter.

Below are just few examples:

- "Discrete and Continuous Models and Applied Computational Science" (Peoples' Friendship University of Russia);

- "Historia Provinciae" (Cherepovets State University);

- "Kutafin Law Review" (Kutafin Moscow State Law University);

- "Studia Religiosa Rossica" (Russian State University for the Humanities);

- "Vestnik Volgogradskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Seriya 2. Yazykoznani" (Volgograd State University);

- "Vestnik Rossiyskikh Universitetov. Matematika" (Tambov State University)
- “RUDN Journal of Medicine” (RUDN University);

- “Journal of Corporate Finance Research” (National Research University Higher School of Economics);

- “Obrabotka metallov-metal working and material science” (Novosibirsk State Technical University);

- “Sechenov Medical Journal” (I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University);

- “Siberian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine” (Tomsk State University);

- “Construction materials and products” (Belgorod State Technological University named after V.G. Shukhov).

As can be seen, Scopus (Elsevier) actively expanding collaboration with war supporters (instead of cutting such ties).

Also, Scopus actively collaborates with the RAS. In Scopus' organizational structure of the RAS at least seven Ukrainian organizations annexed by the Russian Federation are listed, with one, “A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of Russian Academy of Sciences” from Sevastopol, directly affiliated to the Russian Federation.

Also, among those 77 newly added Russian journals we have identified at least 20 journals which are directly (are published by the RAS) or indirectly (Editor in Chief is a member of the RAS) related to the RAS

Below are few examples of newly added to Scopus Russian journals published by the RAS:

- “Russian Japanology Review”

- “The Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Studies in Literature and Language”

- “Theory and Practice of Meat Processing”

- “Food systems”

- “Izvestiya RAN. Seriya literatury i yazyka”

- “Literature of the Americas”

- “Russian Journal of Immunology”

- “Siberian Scientific Medical Journal”

Results of such collaboration include dozens of cases in which Scopus marks Ukrainian territories as Russia. Also, Scopus provided affiliation to so-called DNR and LNR - Russian proxy pseudo-states. It should be mentioned that this is a typical situation for Scopus-indexed journals: thousands (!) of similar cases are present in the Scopus database.
There are other cases of Scopus collaboration with war supporters besides Universities from the Rector's letter or the RAS.

The publisher of "Bulletin of Rehabilitation Medicine" (National Medical Research Center for Rehabilitation and Balneology) is active supporter of war against Ukraine and annexation of its territories (https://nmicrk.ru/news/novosti-tsentra/v-vserossiyskiy-nauchno-prakticheskiy-forum-merov-gorodov-kurortov-novye-vozmozhnosti-razvitiya/?sphrase_id=58499 or here https://nmicrk.ru/news/novosti-tsentra/6-iyulya-proshel-ix-mezhdunarodnyy-nauchno-prakticheskiy-kongress/?sphrase_id=58499).

### Taylor&Francis

Taylor & Francis publishes papers from Russian Journal "Сварочное Производство" (Svarochnoe Proizvodstvo): (http://www.ic-tm.ru/info/o_gurnale_1) in its Journal "Welding International" (https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=twld20)

The original version of this journal is published by LLC "Publishing Center" Mechanical Engineering Technology". President of this company, professor Kazakov Valentin is an active member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). In his statement on the site of the Journal professor Kazakov proudly announces that welding technologies help to develop the military industry of the Russian Federation in general and in terms of dynamic rearmament in particular (http://www.ic-tm.ru/info/glavnij_redaktor_1).

Taylor & Francis publishes yearly ebook entitled "The Territories of the Russian Federation" which "includes surveys covering the annexed (and disputed) territories of Crimea and Sevastopol" (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003466864/territories-russian-federation-2024-europa-publications).

### Brill

Publishes Russian journal "Scrinium" (https://brill.com/view/journals/scri/scri-overview.xml).

### WoS (Clarivate)

All the key issues detailed for Scopus above are also true for the academic papers indexed by WoS.
# Position of International Organizations

## Common Formal Position

After the full-scale Russian invasion on Ukraine, a number of leading academic publishers have signed a multi-publisher statement against the war in Ukraine (Multipublisher statement, 2022)

A key idea related to Russia in the context of sanctions was as follows:

*“We have taken the unprecedented step of suspending sales and marketing of products and services to research organizations in Russia and Belarus.”*

*“Our actions are not targeted at Russian researchers, but rather at research organizations in Russia and Belarus.”*

Also, a lot of international organizations (Springer Nature, Elsevier, Clarivate, Brill, etc.) issued individual statements where they condemned the invasion and declared full support to Ukraine.

## The Real-life Position

We have sent letters to a bunch of international organizations with the facts mentioned above and asked them to explain their position. Related elements of their replies are presented below.

### Elsevier

*“As of now, no government sanctions are in place which impact our capability to accept submissions from Russian journals. Therefore, Russian journals can be suggested for Scopus coverage, and we are asking reviewers of the content selection board to follow the usual practice of “Fair Play” when reviewing these titles for Scopus coverage”*

### Springer Nature

*“With regards to the Russian Academy of Sciences, we maintain that we are compliant with the current sanction regime. While certain individual institutions and persons who are part of the RAS are sanctioned, and in these cases, we don't distribute to them or work with them, the RAS in its entirety is not. This is of course, kept under regular review. As a company, we believe that politics should not interfere with the communication of scientific research. For this reason, our policy with respect to territorial issues such as those that you raise is one of strict neutrality. Because of this, we do not dictate the geographical naming conventions used by editors in their biographies.”*
Taylor and Francis

"The Portfolio Team have advised that we cannot comment on T&F's contractual relationships publicly."

Brill

"We remain committed to the ideals of science and scholarship as a global community. Our actions are not targeted at Russian researchers, but rather at research organisations in Russia and Belarus. This is why we continue to publish and distribute manuscripts from authors in these countries in the independent way set out in the COPE guidelines for research... Brill makes sure not to accept funding from Russia. So, none of the Open Access articles has been funded by Russia, nor any other potential funding from Russia has been received"

Clarivate (WoS)

"Clarivate is not a primary publisher and does not become involved in the editorial management of individual journals, or in the business practices of any publisher."

A long story short: there are no formal sanctions against Russian organizations which is why international organizations are still collaborating. The facts that these organizations support the war, spread Russian propaganda or directly help the army of the aggressor are actually ignored.

Conclusions

The existing status-quo that science is out of politics, and that is why Russian academic organizations are untouchables and could be partners for international organizations, should be broken. We have provided evidence that Russian academic organizations actively support the war against Ukraine and should be punished for that.

Both formal and informal sanctions are needed to stop the collaboration of international organizations with Russian entities that support the war:

* The adoption of official sanctions by the U.S., the EU, and other countries to punish those Russian academic institutions, journals, and authors engaged in propaganda and war support;

* A sharp increase in reputational risks for international organizations (publishers, scientometric databases, etc.), resulted in a review of cooperation with
Russian academic institutions and journals and the implementation of their
compliance to prevent using science as a tool of propaganda.
References

Nazarovets, M. and Teixeira da Silva, J.A. (2022), Scientific publishing sanctions
in response to the Russo-Ukrainian war. Learned Publishing, 35: 658-670.
[https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1487](https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1487)
Appendix A

<table><thead><tr><td>#</td><td>Statement issuer</td><td>Description (link)</td><td>Key quote</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Russian Union of Rectors</td><td>Right after the start of the full-scale invasion, the Russian Union of Rectors, which represents more than 700 university rectors and presidents, issued a statement, which supports the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation (link).</td><td>"It is very important in these days to support our country, our army, which defends our security, to support our president, who, perhaps, made the most difficult, hard-won, but necessary decision in his life."</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences</td><td>Members of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences appeal to scientists from Russia and all countries of the world (link):</td><td>"The long-standing confrontation in Ukraine, accompanied by the death and deprivation of civilians, has escalated into an acute military conflict."</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the RAS</td><td>P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences issued a letter of support (link) signed by approximately 300 academicians (link)</td><td>"In the current difficult period, we, the employees of the Lebedev Physical Institute, unconditionally support our President and the Government of the Russian Federation. We understand that the key role is currently played by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, whose fighting spirit is based on the support of the citizens of our country. We express our deep gratitude to them."</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute"</td><td>The staff of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" issued and signed the following statement of support (link)</td><td>"(...) We observed the steady decline of science in Ukraine, the transformation of the country, primarily through the efforts of Western "partners", into a springboard for neo-Nazism. Therefore, we fully support the decision of the President of the Russian Federation to conduct a special military operation, realizing that it is aimed at the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, preventing the threat of a direct attack from its territory on our country.(...)."</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Lomonosov Moscow State</td><td>The Academic Council of Lomonosov Moscow State</td><td>"Russian President V.V. Putin has exhaustively explained the</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>University</td><td>University issued a statement of support to the decision to invade Ukraine and start a war (link):</td><td>reasons for making the difficult decision to conduct a special military operation.”</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Saint Petersburg State University</td><td>More than 1100 academicians from the Saint Petersburg State University issued a statement in support of the invasion and war against Ukraine (link):</td><td>“We understand what a difficult and fateful decision you (Putin) had to make, and we fully approve of it, realizing that you had no other choice... We express our support for your policy aimed at the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine”</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Collective statements by academicians</td><td>A war support statement was issued by a number of Russian professors (link):</td><td>“We believe that in this difficult time for the country, we must be united in supporting the Russian Armed Forces, a deep bow to our soldiers - liberators from Nazism! Work, brothers! We are proud of you!”</td></tr></table>
Appendix B

<table><caption>Table B.1: Top 10 Russian universities in terms of publication activity* as of 2024 and examples of their support for aggression against Ukraine</caption><thead><tr><th>№</th><th>University</th><th>Number of publications in Scopus</th><th>Signed Recor's letter</th><th>Active support of aggression against Ukraine</th><th>Examples</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov</td><td>165 760</td><td>yes</td><td>yes</td><td>Example 1<br>Example 2<br>Example 3</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Saint Petersburg State University</td><td>68 624</td><td>no</td><td>yes</td><td>Example 1</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Novosibirsk State University</td><td>33 974</td><td>yes</td><td>yes</td><td>Example 1<br>Example 2<br>Example 3</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Kazan Federal University</td><td>33 655</td><td>yes</td><td>yes</td><td>Example 1<br>Example 2</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>HSE University</td><td>31 986</td><td>yes</td><td>yes</td><td>Example 1<br>Example 2<br>Example 3</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>First Moscow State Medical University named after Sechenov</td><td>29 205</td><td>yes</td><td>yes</td><td>Example 1<br>Example 2<br>Example 3</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University of Peter the Great</td><td>28 599</td><td>yes</td><td>yes</td><td>Example 1<br>Example 2<br>Example 3</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Tomsk State University</td><td>25 996</td><td>yes</td><td>yes</td><td>Example 1<br>Example 2<br>Example 3</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Tomsk Polytechnic University</td><td>24 272</td><td>yes</td><td>yes</td><td>Example 1<br>Example 2<br>Example 3</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Saint Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics ITMO University</td><td>23 506</td><td>yes</td><td>yes</td><td>Example 1<br>Example 2<br>Example 3</td></tr></tbody></table>

<footnote>*based on data from the Scopus database</footnote>