Summing up the results of the year as editor-in-chief, I reflect on the path I have traveled in this field over the past five years. At the end of 2019, I accepted the invitation from Pleiades Publishing to lead the journal, which at that time was called Review Journal of Chemistry. I agreed because I firmly believed in the importance of continuing publishing activities and preserving national scientific journals in the countries of the former USSR—especially in Russia, where the main scientific potential of the former superpower remains concentrated.
At that time, scientific leaders in Russia strongly encouraged researchers to publish in foreign journals with the highest possible impact factors. Grant applications began to include productivity metrics based on the number of such publications, making international visibility a key criterion for success.
At the same time, I understood that for many scientists—especially those far from major research centers—publishing in leading international journals is challenging, both due to limited experience with such publications and the language barrier. An important factor in my decision was the history of the Review Journal of Chemistry, founded by Nikolay Zefirov, a classmate and close friend of my father, Viktor Kabanov, together with Pleiades Publishing. In essence, it was an American journal with Russian roots.
My colleagues on the editorial board supported the vision of transforming the journal into a platform where scientists could learn to publish in accordance with international standards. We created a new, truly international editorial board, changed the journal’s focus, and renamed it Reviews and Advances in Chemistry (ReACh). Over the past five years, the journal has grown in volume, quality, and geographic diversity of publications, achieved indexing in Scopus and RSCI, and seen a several-fold increase in views and downloads. ReACh is globally accessible through the SpringerLink platform.
After February 2022, the situation regarding publications by Russian authors changed dramatically. The question of whether to block scientific articles by Russian authors in international journals became a serious concern. As editor-in-chief, with the full support of our editorial board, I issued a statement reaffirming our commitment to COPE principles: our journal evaluates and publishes scientific work regardless of citizenship, nationality, ethnicity, political views, or other personal attributes. The same position was adopted by Pleiades Publishing and by the vast majority of reputable scientific journals worldwide.
At the same time, international sanctions created new challenges for Russian authors—most notably, difficulties or even inability to pay publication fees. In addition, companies responsible for assigning DOI identifiers refused to work with Russia due to sanctions. These issues, however, did not affect the American publishing house Pleiades, which continued to collaborate with authors from Russia as well as from other countries.
In retrospect, time has confirmed the soundness of the position taken by our journal ReACh and by Pleiades Publishing as a whole.
It is important to emphasize that our journal ReACh was created exclusively by Pleiades and has never had any affiliation with Russian organizations, including the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). At the same time, more than 130 journals within the Pleiades portfolio have emerged from decades of collaboration with the RAS—a partnership that began in the late 1980s and has evolved over the past 35 years. Although I was not directly involved in this process, particularly in its early stages—just as most current Academy members and its present leadership were not—I nevertheless regard the results of this cooperation as generally positive, both for the RAS and for the broader scientific community in Russia.
First, during the 1980s and 1990s, the long-standing practice whereby Western publishers translated journals of the Academy of Sciences (formerly the Academy of Sciences of the USSR) into English and distributed them without authorization was brought to an end. Second, more than 130 journals of the Russian Academy of Sciences—along with their editorial boards, which previously had no recognized status in the West—began to be published in English through international databases under clearly defined rules and formal agreements between the Academy and the publishing house. Since the 2000s, journals published jointly with Pleiades or exclusively by Pleiades have adhered to the standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which all reputable scientific journals strive to follow. Fourth, in line with best practices, Pleiades facilitated the creation of international editorial boards—an essential step to prevent journals from remaining confined to a narrow national niche, which at that time was severely depleted compared even to the Soviet era. Overall, this long-term collaboration ensured that Russian scientific journals did not disappear, as happened with many national journals elsewhere, and did not degenerate into unethical predatory publications, which have proliferated globally.
From an economic perspective, cooperation between the Academy and the publishing house was complex—multilateral and multifactorial—varying across journal groups (for example, certain physics titles) and requiring a system of contracts that were regularly updated over 35 years. By the early 2020s, Pleiades published Russian-language versions of journals in Russia, while in the West it distributed its own English-language editions, composed of articles from both Russian authors and foreign contributors with no ties to Russia. The proportion of foreign authors differed by discipline and journal.
Each journal had an editor-in-chief proposed by the RAS and approved by the publisher, along with an editorial board comprising Russian and international experts in accordance with COPE principles. Pleiades executed author agreements with all contributors, an essential requirement for legal publication. Importantly, Pleiades journals have been—and remain—distributed via SpringerLink and indexed in international databases. These journals are not Russian entities and are not affiliated with any sanctioned organizations, which allowed them to continue operating after 2022. As a result, Russian scientists retained the opportunity to publish in the international scientific arena, receiving the feedback and critical engagement essential for the progress of science.
In 2023–2024, relations between the RAS and Pleiades deteriorated sharply. The Academy’s leadership began requiring that both editors-in-chief and authors sign contracts not with Pleiades, but directly with the Academy. Authors were also asked to transfer rights not only for the Russian versions of their articles but for the English versions as well.
I want to underscore that the consequence of this approach is the complete cessation of publication and international distribution of such articles by Russian authors. Neither Pleiades nor any other international publishing company, under current conditions, can—and will—enter into contracts with a Russian organization for publishing materials abroad. This is due both to sanctions and to the reputational risks associated with the war in Ukraine.
In this context, expectations of “China” stepping in are unrealistic: China operates strictly within international laws and regulations and exclusively in its own interests.
Not all, but a number of editors-in-chief and editorial boards of Pleiades journals became involved in the conflict between the Academy’s leadership and the publishing house. At the same time, many other journals continued working with Pleiades. Unfortunately, a strong chemical journal—Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Chemistry, Materials Science—whose editor-in-chief Valentin Ananikov and the Russian part of its editorial board refused to continue cooperation with Pleiades, also withdrew from participation in compiling Doklady Chemistry. This journal, published by Pleiades, provided English versions of articles from Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Chemistry, Materials Science.
It is important to emphasize that Doklady Chemistry, not Proceedings, is indexed in international databases, including Web of Science, has an impact factor, and—like other Pleiades journals—is distributed globally via SpringerLink. This created a paradoxical and tragic situation: the international journal continued to receive articles from both Russian and foreign authors but lacked an editorial board to review them. By 2025, more than three dozen such articles had accumulated. Authors received no response, and the publisher could not release articles without peer review.
This posed a serious threat to Doklady Chemistry losing its status, impact factor, and indexing in international databases—a loss that would be irreversible, as these positions take years or even decades to establish. Meanwhile, the Russian editorial board planned to continue publishing Proceedings in Russian, possibly translating it into English and posting it online. However, without DOI indexing, without a specialized publishing infrastructure, without access to global distribution systems, and amid intense competition—including from China—such a project is stillborn. In reality, it leads to the demise of this journal and others that follow the same path.
I want to emphasize that I have great respect for Valentin Ananikov and the members of the Russian editorial board I know personally; I maintain collegial and friendly relations with many of them, which have endured even after 2022 despite the difficult circumstances. After discussions with Valentin and several other colleagues, I made an independent decision to assume the role of editor-in-chief of Doklady Chemistry, published internationally by Pleiades, to ensure that incoming articles are properly reviewed, accepted (or rejected), and published.
As I have explained to Valentin and others, this is a temporary measure aimed at preserving the journal. If circumstances allow, I am fully prepared to transfer this position to another scholar. I sincerely hope that the economic dispute between the Academy and the publishing house will find a mutually acceptable resolution. Moreover, I am ready to explore, even now, the possibility of reaching an agreement to publish articles accepted by the Russian editorial board in our international journal Doklady Chemistry—of course, in full compliance with international and Russian laws, COPE ethical standards, and the existing sanctions regime.
As long as this situation remains unresolved, we have continued the work of the journal. First, we formed an editorial board composed of scientists working in the West. Due to a slight delay at the start, the first issue for 2025 was published later than planned. However, we successfully reviewed all accumulated articles and are promptly handling new submissions. Today, as we sum up the year, I am pleased to announce that all issues of Doklady Chemistry for 2025 will be published in full. Articles continue to arrive actively—several dozen are currently under review. The journal will continue its work and existence in 2026.
Looking back on the past year as editor-in-chief of two Pleiades journals—Reviews and Advances in Chemistry and Doklady Chemistry—I can confidently say that, under the current circumstances, we made the right choice for the right reasons: first and foremost, remaining true to the position of scientists, acting in the interests of the global scientific community, and adhering to the best practices of COPE.
I want to thank everyone who walked this path with me—especially the members of both editorial boards and our wonderful authors!
Happy New Year! Wishing you all a successful and inspiring 2026!
A. Kabanov, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, M.A.E., AAS&L, FNAE, FAAAS, FAIMBE, FCRS