Moscow State University and dissergate. Part II

Let's move on from reviews of fake dissertations presented on behalf of Moscow State University and its employees, exposed in the dissergate (we talked about this in the first part of the series [1]), to an analysis of the third aspect of our topic - fake works defended at Moscow State University itself. This is especially interesting in the context of the loud statement by the rector of Moscow State University V.A. Sadovnichy that “for 25 years there has not been a single complaint against the dissertation councils of Moscow State University” [2].

The stream of dissertation falsifications flowing from the country's leading university has two main sources. This is already highlighted in the first part of our series, the Faculty of Public Administration under the leadership of V.A. Nikonova (our clients here are councils D 501.001.98 in history and D 501.001.12 in economics) and the Faculty of Sociology, headed by V.I. Dobrenkov (D 501.001.03).

Story

Council D 501.001.98 [3] is headed by Dr. ist. sciences, prof. L.I. Semennikov, the deputy chairman is Dr. ist. sciences, prof. A.V. Sidorov, head of the department of political history of the Federal State University, i.e. chief (past and present) of the heroes of our last publication A.L. Kobrinsky and I.Yu. Kostyuchenko. It is significant that professors Semennikova and Sidorov were members of the Higher Attestation Commission on the history of the “Danilov convocation” [4].

Currently, Dissernet experts know of seven dubious dissertations that have passed through D 501.001.98, and for three of them, defended in 2012, the statute of limitations for appeals has not yet expired.

The funniest example is, perhaps, the dissertation of M.V. Zagoruiko [5, 6], the main source of which is the doctoral dissertation of A.Kh. Lukmanov - the husband of his scientific advisor M.P. Arakelova (in fairness, we point out that some fragments are quoted correctly - in the professional jargon of Dissernet this is called “pawn sacrifice”).

O.A.’s dissertation, almost completely written off. Brusilovskaya [7-9] is remarkable in that it was protected under the leadership of V.G. Koshkidko is not only a current member of the dissertation council under discussion, but also a member of the Ethics Commission of the Federal State University [10]).

Brusilovskaya Oksana Aleksandrovna (2009). Borrowing table

And in terms of “seamlessness” (copying from one source - such works on the Dissernet are called “carbuncles”) S.Yu. went the furthest. Fedotov [11, 12]. By the way, the source of her history work is a dissertation in political science!

Fedotova Svetlana Yurievna (2008). Borrowing table

Copying (apparently hastily) the original text by V.F. Filyanova, she also transferred someone else’s initials (V.F.) into her dissertation in two commentary notes to the quotations. We present one such fragment - first from the work of Fedotova, and then by Filyanova - but we could do it the other way around: there is no difference.

It is impossible not to mention the former professor of the Department of Political History of the Federal State University of Moscow State University S.N. Bledny, who is directly related to at least three of the seven dubious dissertations of this council. He was an opponent of Zagoruiko and the scientific supervisor of Fedotova and N.M. Konovalov [13].

Economy

Council D 501.001.12 [3]: Chairman - Dr. econ. sciences, prof. I.I. Stolyarov, deputy chairmen - Dr. econ. sciences, prof. I.N. Myslyaeva, member of the new Es VAK, and Dr. econ. sciences, prof. V.N. Kazakov. We have already written about this council [14], but now we’ll simply add that it was in it and precisely under the guidance of Professor Myslyaeva that A.G. defended his largely copied dissertation. Sorkin [15] is a prominent restaurateur, co-owner of the restaurants GO Bar, B-Club, Veranda at the Dacha, and the Cabaret club.

Recently, in November 2013, the Higher Attestation Commission upheld an appeal filed against one of the decisions of this council on awarding a candidate of science degree [16]. Now that’s a “complaint”. Is it really V.A. Didn't the gardener know about this?

Sociology

Council D 501.001.03 was opened at the Faculty of Sociology [17]. Chairman of the Council - Dr. econ. sciences, prof. N.R. Ispravnikova, deputy prev -Dr. econ. sciences, prof. V.N. Kazakov (apparently, the same Kazakov as in D 501.001.12). We have already said [18] that it is in this council that an amazing trick is used on an industrial scale - renaming dissertations in economics into dissertations in sociology and defending them “for the second time.”

Of the eleven cases of the sociological council D 501.001.03 known to Dissernet experts, in nine the primary sources were works on economics (and they, in turn, were defended in different parts of our country - from Yekaterinburg and Voronezh to Kazan and the Federal State University of Moscow State University - sic!), and five times we are dealing with dissertations of the “carbuncle” type. And almost all other works were written off almost completely.

Bagdasarov Mikhail Ivanovich (2008). Borrowing table

The most prominent client of Dissernet among the social science department dissertators is, perhaps, the entrepreneur M.I. Bagdasarov, founder of Mika Limited [20]. There are two sources, but they fit tightly, without seams. The conclusions, of course, are also rewritten.

It is important to note the following. As in the case of the Danilovsky Council, when analyzing the abstracts of falsified dissertations D 501.001.03, the repetition of some names and organizations is striking.

Thus, Professor V.G. Terentyev appeared on as many as six occasions as a scientific supervisor or opponent, chairman of the council N.R. Ispravnikova was a scientific supervisor three times (for more details, see [21]), A.V. Fomin is not only the author of the dubious dissertation, but also twice an opponent [22], several more people are mentioned in our summary table for D 501.001.03 twice (including the opponent of the aforementioned Bagdasarov, Associate Professor of the National Research University Higher School of Economics E.A. Tarasenko, Professor of the National Research University Higher School of Economics T. G. Filosofov, as well as honorary professor of Moscow State University V.P.

Kalantarov Dibir Magomedovich (2011). Borrowing table

But the most interesting thing begins when it comes to the organizations that covered up the falsifications: six of the eleven dissertations (including Bagdasarov’s work) were completed at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in three cases the leading organization was the Institute of Market Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (again including Bagdasarov’s dissertation) - these are materials on the issue “RAN and dissergate”, which we will consider in more detail sometime later. Another detailed material about the Social Sciences Faculty Council was published in [23].

Returning to the conversation about complaints, we note that in 2009, the Higher Attestation Commission withdrew from consideration one of the dissertations defended in the council D 501.001.03 (upon a written statement from the applicant) and made a remark to the council itself (“due to the unsatisfactory quality of consideration”). It is interesting that the author of this 2008 work, successfully defended there a couple of years later, was former Deputy Minister of Agriculture A.A. Bazhanov, and the opponents are the same Terentyev and Tarasenko (for more details, see [24])

And we would like to finish this publication with a recent incident from the life of one of the dissertation councils of the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University [25]. As they say, the point is that the source work for this dissertation was defended in exactly the same council D 501.001.18 four years earlier.

Dissernet experts have many more entertaining and instructive stories of this kind, so we’ll end with our traditional one: stay with Dissernet.

The author thanks the Dissernet experts, whose assistance in preparing this series of materials was invaluable.

Methodius Volikhamov

1. http://trv-science.ru/2014/02/25/mgu-i-dissergejjt-opasnye-svyazi/

2. http://gazeta.ru/science/2014/01/25_a_5866277.shtml

3. http://spa.msu.ru/page_201.html

4. http://trv-science.ru/2013/02/12/narod-khochet-znat-svoikh-geroev/

5. http://igmsu.org/index.php?itemid=854

6. http://wiki.dissernet.org/w/ZagoruikoMV2012.html

7. http://wiki.dissernet.org/w/Brusilovskaya0A2009.html

8. http://disser-graf.livejournal.com/1690.html

9. http://disser-graf.livejournal.com/1904.html