Research institutions end cooperation with Russia in all fields

eThen, one German research institute, after another, took a stand against Russian policy last week and announced the consequences. The foundation was quickly laid: on the Friday after the Russian invasion, Allianz, the largest federation of German scientific and research organizations, published a recommendation according to which “scientific cooperation with state institutions and commercial enterprises of Russia should be frozen immediately. In effect until further notice that German research funds It will not benefit Russia and that no joint scientific and political research events should be held. ”

On the same day, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) said in a statement that Russia had “admitted itself to the international community” by its behavior. Previous cooperation in science and research as well as in vocational training will be suspended, and planning for new measures will be suspended “until further notice.” The scientific academies also opposed the attack on Ukraine and considered Russia’s actions “an attack on the fundamental foundations of academic freedom and international cooperation”.

In some places, Russia is the most important partner

Ending research collaborations is a drastic step. Germany and Russia previously cooperated in many important areas of science: the ten-year German-Russian roadmap for cooperation in education, science, research and innovation was not signed until 2018, which is based on similar agreements from 2009 to 1987. To date, Russia has been An important partner, particularly in space travel, physics and polar research. The Helmholtz Association, which has had its own office in Moscow since 2005, maintains particularly strong ties with Russia.

The FAIR Accelerator Center is currently under construction at GSI, the Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt. Russia, says GSI press spokesperson, Ingo Peter, is the largest partner country. Sanctions will have a strong impact on an individual’s activities, but management believes they are “necessary.” Coordination is underway with other FAIR project partner countries on their concrete implementation. The German Synchrotron (DESY), also supported by the Helmholtz Association, is located in Hamburg and Zeuthen and currently employs 100 Russian and 20 Ukrainian employees. One stands in complete solidarity behind the instructions of the BMBF, it is said upon request. “More than 25 cooperation projects and cooperation relations with a large number of Russian institutes and universities” will be suspended, including the EU project CREMLINplus, which will run until 2024.