More than 7,000 Russian researchers sign anti-war petition

The war against Ukraine has sparked strong reactions from thousands of Russian researchers and research journalists. An open letter that now has been signed by more than 7,400 representatives of the country’s research community calls for an immediate stop to the aggression.

“This fatale step leads to huge human victims and undermines the basis of the established international security,” the letter reads.

“The responsibility for the new war in Europe fully lies on Russia,” the signatories say.

The petition is signed by professors and academicians from the Russian Academy of Science, university representatives and institute researchers from across the country. It is published by Troitsky Variant, a research newspaper issued in Moscow. Researchers sign up to the petition on a Google Doc and the number of signatories continues to grow rapidly.  

“There can be no reasonable justification for this war […] It is absolutely clear that Ukraine poses no threat to the security of our country and the war against her is unjust and fully without sense,” the letter highlights.

The signatories argue that Russian state leaders are driven by geopolitical ambitions and “dubious historical fantasies.”

They also underline that they have “understanding for the European path of their neighbours.”

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They now fear that Russia will be an internationally isolated country and “an outcast.”

“The isolation of Russia from the rest of the world means further cultural and technological degradation for our country and no positive perspectives.”

Following its attack on Ukraine, the international community has condemned Russia and pulled out of cooperation projects.

On the 4th of March, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research announced that it suspends all cooperation with Russian authorities and withdraws from research cooperation agreements with Russian institutions.

“Russian authorities have put the world in a very serious situation that requires reactions,” says Norwegian Minister Ola Borten Moe. “At the same time we want the sanctions to be as much as possible directed towards Russian authorities and not civil society,” he adds.

“The academic community can be an important counterweight to the authorities in Russia,” he argues.