Paradox: St. Petersburg State University marks the leaders in the biomedical direction, but at the same time a scientific team, who has been working in this area for forty years, and very efficiently fell out of favor .

The professor is no longer a professor

On June 1, 2015, at the rector, the vice -rector for science of St. Petersburg State University S.P. Tunik said: the university "becomes one of the leading medical and pharmaceutical universities in the country." Still: two medical faculties plus the clinic recently annexed to the university. Pirogov.

Before that, on April 23, at the University Institute of Chemistry, at the Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, it was not recommended for re -election to the post of professor one of the main “suppliers of Biomedical achievements” - a long -standing professor of the department (and its leader for 25 years - in 2013 he left a post for health reasons), Doctor of Chemical Sciences Alexander Grigoryevich Shavva.

Professor Shavva has been working at the university for half a century. More than 30 patents, seven of them over the past 8 years; more than 100 scientific articles; invited lecturer of international conferences and congresses; joint work with scientists from Germany, Portugal, Finland, USA; He raised 10 candidates of sciences (three over the past three years). Under his leadership, a doctoral is prepared for the defense this year - but this is a separate entertaining story in the spirit of “Dissernet, on the contrary,” which is below. Among the real achievements are drugs with high antioxidant activity for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases; drugs with high osteoprotective effects and reduced hormonal activity; cardioprotectors with reduced or missing hormonal activity; Preparations for the treatment of breast cancer, prostate cancer and other hormone -dependent oncological diseases ...

The result of the vote at the department: three “for”, four “against”, one “abstained”.

There is such an awkward circumstance: vote against the venerable scientist-be prepared that someone will check your scientific successes. And he will find it, God forbid, that the Hirsch index is small - in the amount of, say, “two”. And the gap in publications at 5–9 years. And then prove that “against” you voted completely sincerely and fundamentally, and not because they are dependent.

"They want to get rid of ..."

Maybe the non -rejection was a blow of lightning for Alexander Grigoryevich and his associates, but the thunder was heard for a long time. They say that from the arrival of the new leadership to St. Petersburg State University. Lawyer Nikolai Kropachev became the rector of St. Petersburg State University in May 2008, and already in December 2009, Sergey Tunik (at that time vice-rector for the St. Petershof faculties; for him, by the way, the university chemical faculty of the university) ordered the group of Professor Shavva to stop experimental work in one of the laboratories. As the employees of the department say, there were no reasons. Then somehow fought back, the work continued; A year later, it turned out that the premises were prepared for another invited scientist - and on the sidelines sounded: they want to get rid of Shavva.

However, work in a new place continued, there were no repression - not to consider repressions extremely insufficient funding.

It became more interesting in 2013, when the first competition of megagrators was announced at St. Petersburg State University. These are not the megagrators that the Russian government gives to the invitation of leading scientists. This is an internal university grant, which was also nicknamed Mega, because it is large: financing of the created laboratories-40 million in 2013 and 100 million in 2014. The team of Professor Shavva, together with the professor at the University of Lausanne Vladimir Katanaev, applied, she concerned the development of drugs against breast cancer.

Not won. Well, it happens. The university has the right to decide which projects are more important now. The catch is that, like four applications that won the applications, the Shavva -Katanaeva project received the highest points from all reviewers. The team officially asked the rector: Why? The answer was in the spirit of "because because." Say, there was still an additional internal examination. In the “Regulations on the competition” about her not a word, which was later indicated in a letter to the rector of the primary trade union organization “Universant”.

Scientists reasoned: money for university grants - state -owned ones, and turned to the instance with a request for verification. Addressers, among the proceedings,-the prosecutor of the North-West, the prosecutor general of Russia, as well as the president and chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation (the Ministry of Education and Science also applied to the Ministry of Education and Science, but in vain, which has a special status of St. Petersburg State University is not accountable for the Ministry). Letters, as expected, went down, and in response the questioners received all the same “because because”. And at a personal meeting of the Swiss Professor Katanaev with the vice -rector for science S.P. Tunik, a proposal was made to participate in competitions, but with another team.

Dissernet on the contrary

“In the vast majority of universities today there is no real competition for replacing positions . In a person from the side of the person to become a professo rum at a foreign university - zero chances , the department always votes for “his own” . We began to break these right ... ” - said rector N. M. Kropachev in an interview.

At a meeting on June 1, the rector once again emphasized that the election of the competition should take into account the competitiveness of the candidate at the world level. A. G. Shavva had a competitor, also a contender for a position - not a newcomer, "his own." As a result, he withdrew his candidacy. Alexander Grigoryevich did not have rivals, but his competitiveness, his unknitful candidate, no one questioned. One-or claims were presented. Some of them are amazing, others, according to the accused, egregious.

From amazing, for example, the reproach for the fact that employees report to participation in conferences that they went at their own expense. In a report note Art. scientific. sore. The Department of Svetlana Morozkina was an explanation: yes, it was not possible for a university account-in financing, they called; “I had to choose between trips at a conference at my own expense and lack of trips ( which entails a break in ties with an international scientific community and a lack of publications , not desirable not only for us , but also for St. Petersburg State University ) . ” The conference was in the United States, the reports were invited. “We are advertising our RA BOTS as the Aunt University , at our own expense ! "

Of the egregious accusations, this is a graduate student. A talented young man committed suicide, it turned out - schizophrenia. Nothing foreshadowed, employees learned about the disease of the young man post -fact. The investigators had no complaints, the parents of the young man with a letter supported the teachers of their son. But at the department it sounded: "How did you not consider ..."

The apogee was the situation with the defense of the doctoral dissertation Svetlana Morozkina. The very doctoral consultant of which was Professor Shavva. Pre -defense was passed both at the department and in Moscow, opponents were found, a positive opinion was received, but the defense was disrupted. On April 23, at the same meeting of the department, it sounded: "Professor Shavva handed over to Morozovna the materials of the doctoral dissertation of another person." For a real scientist, perhaps, there is no accusation of the gage. In the same reporting Svetlana Morozkin, the vice -rector we read that the materials of the doctoral other person have not passed protection for nine years; And there are links to the research of another person in the doctoral - the benefit of publication was joint with Morozkin.

A strange accusation: it is easy to check the dissertation for plagiarism. And on his absence. Morozkina is ready to defend her truth in court (after all, the damage of honor and dignity), but it is already clear what will happen, as in that joke: either he stole, or he stole, and the sediment remained.

Painfully smart ?

“We do not understand the original reason for this attitude,” comments Svetlana Morozkin.

Only suggest. The university received 700 million rubles. On the development of the direction of translating medicine-perhaps someone considers the Shavva group an annoyingly strong competitor? Moreover, when the President of the Russian Federation issued a decree on the introduction of 58 medicinal drugs in Russia in the production, the Shavva group sent their proposals to the authority: they are ready to create and implement two drugs from the list. Is there a person or a scientific group that more arrange a university leadership? Scientists do not know.

“Knowing people told us that you should not be too smart,” says Svetlana Morozkina.

Also strange advice. Logically, this is like this: suppose, a certain scientist is decisively unbearable for the authorities, but, here is an annoyance, effective; In addition, the direction of his activity was allocated by the university as a priority ... What to do to the authorities? Clutch your teeth and endure. And if possible, to smile kindly. The previous patents belong to the university, but the disgraced scientists probably have something else in the tanny: they will leave with them. The university is unprofitable.

But we do not admit that the leadership of the university can act without compliance?