The Russian-American Science Association (RASA) strongly condemns the decision of the Russian authorities to declare our colleague, former president of RASA, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and an outstanding chemist professor Alexander Kabanov a “foreign agent.” This step is yet another manifestation of a policy pursued by the Russian leadership that runs against the interests of its own people. It is, however, incapable of stopping the scientific and humanistic work of people like Alexander Kabanov.

The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology has a new rector, a new Kremlin-appointed overseer, and a new mission. The university has recently been headed by Academician Yulia Gorbunova, who now faces the challenge of putting Skoltech on a new track — no longer as Russia’s premier globally oriented research center, but as a key pillar of “technological sovereignty.” Why Skoltech was folded into VEB.RF and what new objectives have been set for it — T-invariant takes a closer look.

Russia’s Justice Ministry has designated the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) an “undesirable” organization. It is not the first organization of this kind to end up on the ministry’s list: the Central European University, the British Council, the International Baccalaureate, EF Education First, and others were added earlier. T-invariant examines how blacklisting one of the world’s most successful academic exchange programs deprives hundreds of Russian students and researchers of opportunities to study and work in Germany, dismantles scientific ties built over decades, and pushes Russian science even deeper into isolation.

Seven weeks in X’s (formerly Twitter) algorithmic feed — and American users’ political views permanently shifted to the right; turning the algorithm off reversed almost none of them. These are the results of an independent study conducted in 2023. One of its authors, Paris School of Economics professor Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, explained in an interview with T-invariant why the algorithm proved to be such a powerful tool for shaping opinions.

The year 2026 marks the tenth anniversary of Havana Syndrome — a mysterious psychophysiological disorder caused divide among scientists. While Trump speaks of a secret “Discombobulator,” and intelligence agencies quietly purchase devices allegedly capable of mimicking Havana Syndrome, new theories about its origin are emerging. T-invariant examined why the microwave hypothesis has hit a dead end, how the laser version could help resolve it, and what the consequences will be if this does not happen.

In March 2026, the Alabuga Special Economic Zone (SEZ) launched an aggressive recruitment campaign targeting teenagers starting from 8th grade to assemble Shahed combat drones. Influencer marketing agencies help attract schoolchildren to build the main tool of daily terror against Ukraine. These managers never visited Alabuga and operate from the upper floors of Moscow City or from exotic islands in Southeast Asia. T-invariant has uncovered how the work of people who “every day live their best life” is organized, how their narratives and technical assignments are turned into videos on YouTube, TikTok, and Telegram, and how young influencers and internet entrepreneurs fight negative comments by scrubbing “stop words” about their client’s activities.

Two years ago, on February 13, 2024, the Appellate Military Court toughened the sentence of publicist, sociologist, and political scientist Boris Kagarlitsky. The scholar, accused of “public calls for terrorism” (in a YouTube video discussing the explosion of the Crimean Bridge), had his previously imposed fine replaced with five years in a general-regime correctional colony. T-invariant explains why one of the most prominent left-wing intellectuals was not left at liberty and why even careful criticism of the authorities in today’s Russia often ends in a prison term.

Boris Tsilevich spent decades advocating for minority rights in PACE, became the first chair of the subcommittee on minority rights, and in 2023 secured — via Latvia’s Constitutional Court — the right to use Russian-language for higher education in private universities. Today he believes the era of minority rights has effectively come to an end. In an interview with T-invariant, Tsilevich explains how the security considerations dismantled the Council of Europe’s minority protection system, why even “ostensibly satisfied” minorities tend toward political separatism, and how the principles of DEI have supplanted multiculturalism.

Russia’s Neiry Group implants electrodes in pigeons’ brains to create remotely controlled “biodrones” that fly longer and blend in better than conventional drones. Founded by advertiser-turned neuro-entrepreneur Alexander Panov, the project has attracted major funding and is tied to scientists at the MSU Institute of Artificial Intelligence, led by Vladimir Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova. T-invariant reveals who profits from the neurotech boom — dubbed “coercive optimism” by academics — and what it can actually deliver in 2026.