Novaya Gazeta Europe: At least 2,500 scholars have left Russia since start of full-scale invasion

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at least 2,500 scholars have cut academic ties with Russia and moved abroad, according to an investigation by Novaya Gazeta Europe.

The outlet’s journalists studied updates in the Open Research and Contributor ID (ORCID) database, which lists academic researchers. As of October 2023, more than 130,000 scholars with at least one Russia-related affiliation were registered on ORCID.

According to the investigation’s estimates, the number of Russian scholars who moved abroad remained relatively unchanged between 2012 and 2021, at 10 percent. In 2022, this number jumped to 30 percent. “That means more than 600 scientists left Russia since 2022, and the share of those who chose to work abroad for their next place of employment has tripled,” said the investigation.

Between 2022 and 2023, nine hundred people either quit a Russian organization, added a new country without specifying the place of work, or deleted records of employment in Russia, according to the investigation. According to conservative estimates, this means that at least 2,500 scholars have left Russia.

According to the study, the largest number of scholars (23%) left Moscow universities, including the Higher School of Economics, Moscow State University, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

The main migration destinations for Russian scholars were Israel, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates, the U.K., France, Germany, and the U.S.