Тексты - Т-инвариант / T-invariant

Texts

From Boutique Research Institute to Science Strike Force: How Igor Shuvalov Is Relaunching Skoltech

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.

Chapayevsk and Void. A Medical Workers’ Association in a Small Russian City Was Labeled a Foreign Agent Ten Years Ago. How Did the Story End?

In 2016, the Association of Medical Workers of Chapayevsk (Samara Region) was labeled a “foreign agent.” The reason was research grants from U.S. organizations for medical studies that the NGO was conducting jointly with scientists from Harvard University. The organization was later dissolved. It was the first, but far from the last, case in which long-term medical research programs carried out jointly with major Western scientific centers were shut down to serve political interests. T-invariant examines what research was conducted in Chapayevsk and whether the scientists managed to complete their work.

Gamer Under Contract. The State Offers Students a New Role Model

A new way to recruit students into the Unmanned Systems Troops is by encouraging volunteers through the example of their peers. T-invariant reviewed university and college websites and social media pages, along with regional media reports, and compiled the most telling cases. University rectors are required to report on their results at regular meetings with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko. But the quota for each institution – at least 2% of the total student body – is hard to meet.

Havana Syndrome — Forever? The Psychogenic Roots, Microwave Mirage, Laser Optoacoustic Impact — What’s Going On

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.

“Every Day I Live My Best Life” — While Teenagers in Alabuga Assemble Drones for the War

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.

Doves of the “Russkiy Mir”. How Potanin’s Money and the Institute of Putin’s Daughter Recruit Neuroscience for Military Service

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.

The Rectors’ Hot Seat. Since 2012, about one hundred university heads have faced criminal prosecution

The year 2025 isn’t over yet, but we already know of 12 instances of criminal prosecutions against rectors of Russian universities, as well as 10 sentences handed down to them. And this isn’t a record: in the last pre-war year of 2021, law enforcement took interest in 17 university leaders. This is how the process of elite turnover is unfolding in higher education, which Vladimir Putin initiated after returning to the presidential seat in 2012. T-invariant examined the stories of criminal prosecutions of rectors from 2012 to 2025 and found that leading a university is no less dangerous than serving as a deputy to a governor or minister.

Homeopathic Offensive: The Duma Conquered, the RAS Under Siege

On May 19, the Commission on Combating Pseudoscience of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) issued a statement urging the exclusion of homeopathic drugs from mandatory clinical guidelines. It seemed like a routine step in the defense of scientific integrity, yet a document drafted in February waited three and a half months for publication. The reason lies in a fierce struggle within the RAS and beyond, where the homeopathic industry, backed by influential figures in the State Duma (Russia’s lower house of parliament) and top officials within the RAS, is mounting an offensive. From censorship to political insinuations about “NATO conspiracies,” T-invariant uncovers how pseudoscience is encroaching on science in Russia.

Prosecutors pulled the crystal owl over the Russian globe: how the CHGKs became undesirable

In November 2024, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation recognized the International Association of Intellectual Games (IAIG) as an undesirable organization. This absurd, at first glance, decision was preceded by a long history of ethical transformation and split of the once united intellectual community. Today, this confrontation looks like it was caused by a war, and everyone writes about it. However, it is based on deep contradictions and psychological deformations that have been embedded since Soviet times.

The Joyous Science. An Essay on the Biography and Scientific Activity of George Gamow

The fifteenth essay in the series “Creators” is dedicated to Georgy Gamov, an outstanding physicist and cosmologist, professor at George Washington University and the University of Colorado at Boulder, who made a huge contribution to nuclear physics, cosmology and theoretical biology. Together with RASA (Russian-American Science Association) T-invariant continues publishing the series of biographical essays “Creators”.

Aucune tolérance envers le régime de Poutine !
Un appel d’universitaires du monde entier

Aucune tolérance envers le régime de Poutine ! Un appel d’universitaires du monde entier

¡Basta de tolerancia con el régimen de Putin!
Un llamamiento de los académicos del mundo

Não mais tolerância ao regime de Putin!
Um apelo dos acadêmicos do mundo

Basta tollerare il regime di Putin! Un appello di studiosi del mondo intero