Russian science foundation shuts down after being branded 'foreign agent'

A Russian foundation that gave grants to young scientists and mathematicians has been forced to close down after it was branded a “foreign agent”, under a controversial Kremlin law.

In a one-line statement on its website the Dynasty Foundation in Moscow announced on Monday that it was “liquidating” all of its activities. The foundation had been operating since 2002 and had sponsored numerous scientific grants and prizes.

Its 82-year-old founder Dmitry Zimin – a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded Beeline, one of Russia’s biggest mobile networks – left the country last month and is now in exile abroad, according to media reports in Russia.

The foundation is the latest victim of a 2012 law, which requires all non-governmental organisations that receive western funding to register as foreign agents – a term that implies the organisations are involved in spying.

Russia’s justice ministry says the non-profit foundation falls under the definition because Zimin’s bank accounts, which support Dynasty, are kept abroad. Zimin’s supporters point out that his fortune is entirely self-made.

They add that the money - $8m (£5.2m) this year - has been used for patriotic purposes and for the benefit of Russian science, following years of degradation, brain drain and budget cuts.

The ministry later broadened its attack by pointing to Dynasty’s funding of Liberal Mission, an organisation run by the former economy minister Yevgeny Yasin, which aims to spread liberal values in Russia. Yasin said that Zimin had now quit Russia for an indefinite period.

The decision to close the foundation was made on Monday. It follows an emotional meeting by the board last month which decided to explore alternative sources of funding, with a view to carrying on.

Scientists have reacted angrily to the assault on Dynasty. More than 3,000 researchers, writers, publishers, and students have signed an open letter calling on the justice ministry to reverse the decision, which they called “not an ordinary example of mindless bureaucratic zeal but a direct blow to the pride, prestige, fame, and future of the country”.

Separately on Wednesday, Russia’s upper chamber called on authorities to blacklist 12 foreign NGOs – including US-based Freedom House, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Ukrainian World Congress – as “undesirable”.

Original Article
Source: theguardian.com/
Author: Luke Harding