Employees of the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics published an open letter in connection with the arrests of scientists on suspicion of treason, writes RBC.
It is noted that the letter refers to the detention since the beginning of the year of three “outstanding aerodynamic scientists.” At the same time, the arrest of two of them – Anatoly Maslov and Alexander Shiplyuk – was reported in the media in July and August, but the arrest of the Novosibirsk physicist Valery Zvegintsev, who was allegedly detained in April, was still unknown.
The authors of the open letter emphasized that all the arrested scientists are known for their “brilliant scientific results”, devoted their lives to serving Russian science and “always remained true to the interests of the country.” The appeal emphasizes that, although the materials of the criminal cases are closed, “from open sources” it is known that “acts for which our colleagues can spend the rest of their lives behind bars are something that all over the world, including in Russia , is considered simply an obligatory component of conscientious and high-quality scientific activity – making presentations at international seminars and conferences, publishing articles in high-ranking journals, participating in international scientific projects.
Scientists note that they “no longer understand” how they “do their job”, since “any article or report can lead to accusations of treason.” “The most terrible thing in this situation is the influence of the created atmosphere on the scientific youth. Even now, the best students refuse to come to work with us, and our best young employees are leaving science. A number of scientific areas that are critical to creating the fundamental backlog necessary to create the aerospace technology of the future are simply closed because employees are afraid to engage in such research, ”the authors of the letter concluded.
The appeal was sent to the Russian authorities, teams of scientific and industrial organizations, and the professional scientific community.
Source: Rosbalt
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