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Summing up the year: from the Editor-in-Chief of the Reviews Journal of Chemistry (ReACh) and Doklady Сhemistry

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.

Acing Drones 101: Enticing Top University Students to Join the New UAV Forces for Big Money

The Russian Ministry of Defense has started urging students at Russian universities to work as drone operators. But to do so, they must first sign a military service contract. Students are promised lump-sum payments of five million rubles and the option to terminate the contract after just one year. A T-invariant correspondent investigated whether the Defense Ministry’s promises can be trusted.

Chinese Plastics, Turkish Middlemen: How Russian Chemists and Biochemists Continue Working After the Break with Western Suppliers

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, countries in NATO and the EU (as well as Japan, Switzerland, and several others) imposed economic sanctions on Russia that included either a complete trade ban or significant restrictions on commerce. This severely impacted sectors of the economy critically dependent on imports of high-tech products. One such sector is experimental scientific research. Nevertheless, many university and academic laboratories continue to operate. Alexander Chizhov, PhD in chemistry and author of more than 200 publications in organic chemistry and structural chemistry of natural compounds, tells T-invariant how this remains possible.

“To Claim That White Men Have No Privileges At All Is Modest Racism.” Dmitry Dubrovsky on the Assault on DEI, Inequality in Academia, and the Culture of Consequences

The DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) policy and Trump’s actions to eliminate such initiatives are sparking heated debates among scholars. Some see DEI principles as the politicization of science, a form of censorship, and a violation of meritocracy. Others strongly disagree. T-invariant spoke with sociologist and historian Dmitry Dubrovsky about how DEI mechanisms worked in the United States, why they face so much criticism from the academic community, and what Trump’s policy on inclusion and diversity will lead to.

“High Intelligence of the Defendant as an Aggravating Circumstance” — Physicist from Noginsk Faces 25 Years in Prison for Thoughtcrime

For the first time in Russian history, a court is about to issue a sentence typically given to real terrorists and serial killers, solely for allegedly intending to commit a crime. State prosecutor Madina Dolgieva has requested 34-year-old physicist Artem Khoroshilov be sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of treason, DDoS attack, and preparation of sabotage. To date, this is the record term requested for a member of the scientific community. “The system is turning feral — especially in cases related to the ‘SVO’. And the claim that the defendant’s high intellect is an aggravating circumstance has left us all reeling,” say scientists interviewed by T-invariant. (‘SVO’ is the official euphemism for the invasion of Ukraine. — T-invariant)

By the Color of Their Passport: Sanctions Control Rules Applied to Scientists Now Extended to Students

No Mosquito in the Ointment: How Russia Doomed a Vital Scientific Initiative in Africa

In August 2025, the promising Target Malaria project aimed at combating malaria using modified mosquitoes was abruptly shut down in Burkina Faso. The country’s government sealed the laboratories, destroyed the insects, and sprayed insecticides, labeling the experiment a threat to sovereignty. Many scientists from around the world called this decision a catastrophe: gene drive technology could have permanently rid Africa of malaria, which claims 600,000 lives annually. T-Invariant has uncovered how a Russian-coordinated disinformation campaign, anti-Western sentiments, and local activists led to the halt of one of the continent’s most promising scientific projects.

From a “Hooligan University” to a “State Civilization”: How Nikita Anisimov Turned HSE into an Ordinary Russian University in Just a Few Years

Over the past three and a half years of active sanctions policy, only four rectors of Russian universities have been added to Western “blacklists.” The most prominent among them is Nikita Anisimov, only the second rector in the history of the Higher School of Economics (HSE). T-invariant reports on how, under his leadership, HSE has once again outpaced all other universities, but this time — in militarization, promotion of the pro-war ‘Z’ ideology, participation in the Kremlin’s propaganda machine, and direct involvement — by Anisimov himself, his team, and even students — on the front lines and in occupied territories.

Assault on Sovereignty, or The Kremlin Kicks the Dog. Why Members of Russia’s Anti-War Committee Were Accused of Attempting a Violent Seizure of Power

Russia’s FSB has opened a criminal case, accusing Mikhail Khodorkovsky and members of the Anti-War Committee of attempting a violent takeover and forming a terrorist organization. The list of the accused includes Eugene Koonin, head of the Evolutionary Genomics Laboratory at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and member of the T-invariant coordinating council, as well as tech entrepreneur Mikhail Kokorich, founder and CEO of Destinus. T-invariant has learned just how unexpected these charges of especially grave crimes were for them and how they might impact their lives.

Academic Freedom is Eroding Even in Democracies: New Report from Scholars at Risk

Each year, the organization Scholars at Risk (SAR) releases the Free to Think report, which acts as a global barometer for academic freedom. The latest edition, published on October 1, 2025, highlights a troubling trend: since 2018, declines in academic freedom metrics have emerged not just in autocracies but also in long-established democracies. The report, covering July 2024 to June 2025, documents 395 attacks worldwide. Although the total numbers show only a modest increase from the previous year, incidents threatening the physical safety of students and faculty have nearly doubled.

Russian Books in Exile: Secret Routes and Bookish Heroes

Following the start of the war, dozens of Russian-language small presses sprang up beyond Russia’s borders. Recently, their representatives — Aglaia Asheshova (“Turgenev Library”), Igor Ivanov (Skaryna Press), Yakov Klots (Tamizdat Project), Evgeny Kogan (“Babel Books,” Tel Aviv), Maxim Kurnikov (“Echo Book”), and Alexander Gavrilov (Vidim Books) — gathered for a panel discussion at the “Prague Book Tower” book fair (Sept’25).

“Not an Enemy, but a Friend of the People”: The Trial of a Kurchatov Institute Employee

The Gatchina District Court has resumed hearings in the case of Dmitry Bogmut, a technician at the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute named after B.P. Konstantinov (part of the Kurchatov Institute). After the onset of the war in Ukraine, Bogmut posted anti-war videos in a private thread on a forum with only a dozen users. He has been held in a pre-trial detention center for a year and a half and faces up to ten years in prison. Court hearings are regularly attended by a crowd of men in camouflage, seemingly organized as “extras”, identified as “Donbas volunteers.” Meanwhile, the names of activists supporting Bogmut have been publicly disclosed by state news agencies, leading to threats against them.

From Global Citizens to the Russian World: Deputy Speaker Celebrates Her Victory over the International Baccalaureate

The push to have the International Baccalaureate (IB) designated as an “undesirable organization” was orchestrated by Anna Kuznetsova, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma (Russia’s lower house of parliament), and, likely, the family of Konstantin Malofeev and Maria Lvova-Belova. It was Kuznetsova who requested for inspections of IB schools by prosecutors and the education oversight authority Rosobrnadzor, leading to administrative cases against teachers and administrators. The “monarchist-patriotic faction” convinced the enforcement agencies that IB schools foster “global citizens” and “emphasize the protection of LGBTQ+ rights.” Within a day, most schools erased any mention of IB and submitted statements to withdraw from the organization.

“Baccalaureate Leaders Promote Non-Traditional Values,” Claims Russia’s Prosecutor General. Elite Schools’ IB Programs Coveted by Putin’s Elite Abruptly Banned

“This is a gauntlet thrown at the feet of the judiciary.” Lawyer Ekaterina Mishina on why the US President believes his words trump court rulings

Trump’s clash with the US judicial system is taking on alarming forms. On June 27, the Supreme Court (in a 6-3 decision along conservative lines) issued a ruling that drastically limits the ability of lower federal judges to block presidential executive orders nationwide. From now on, judges can only block the president’s actions in relation to specific plaintiffs. This ruling marked Trump’s first major court victory of the year. What comes next for America? T-invariant asked lawyer Ekaterina Mishina for clarification.

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