Two scientists who spoke out against the war were not elected as full members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), reports T-Invariant.
In the elections, which concluded on 29 May, two corresponding members of RAS were not confirmed as full academicians: linguistics professor at Ural Federal University Elena Berezovich and Director of the Vinogradov Russian Language Institute of RAS Fyodor Uspensky. Both had signed an open letter by scientists in 2022 against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the RAS charter, a candidate needs to receive more than half of all academicians’ votes—there are about 780 of them. Berezovich received votes from 351 academicians; 173 voted against, and 33 abstained. Uspensky received 352 votes in favour, 171 against, and 34 abstentions.
The publication notes that before the vote, academician Valery Kashin addressed the audience. Kashin is the General Designer of the Scientific-Production Corporation “Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering,” one of Russia’s leading centres for military technology.
“Academician candidates Elena Berezovich and Fyodor Uspensky signed an open letter in support of Ukraine and against the Special Military Operation in 2022. Three years have passed. We can all see what is happening to the Russian language and literature in Ukraine. Berezovich is the head of a Russian language department; Uspensky is an institute director. They ought to respond somehow—have they changed their position or remained where they stood? At least, in the open press, I have not seen anything of the sort,” said Kashin.
“This call for Berezovich and Uspensky to comment on their position was supported by the head of the RAS medical division,” a T-Invariant source among RAS members said. This division is headed by academician Vladimir Starodubov.
Academician-Secretary of the Division of Historical and Philological Sciences of RAS Nikolay Makarov replied to Kashin that he was confident Berezovich and Uspensky had changed their stance, and that his division’s position was well known, since he himself “was probably the first humanities scholar to visit the liberated territories.” He added that his division actively supports Russian military personnel.
T-Invariant writes that during this discussion, Berezovich and Uspensky were probably not in the hall—the RAS president and other leaders tried to call for them over the microphone. Makarov’s speech in defence of the scientists was met with applause from the audience.
At the same time, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov was elected as an academician of RAS. Azarov resigned in January 2014 during the Maidan protests against the government of Viktor Yanukovych and soon left the country. T-Invariant describes this as a precedent, as it is the first time a person with a Hirsch index of zero has become a full member of RAS. Azarov received 527 votes in favour, 14 against, and 15 abstentions.
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On 17 May 2024, Alexander Zumorin was detained outside the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow while holding a sign reading: “No to war.” / Photo provided by the detainee’s wife