Who is the "foreign agent"?

I will not repeat how many important and useful for science, education
And the education of the cases was made by the Dmitry Zimin Foundation "Dynasty". This knew a wide range of scientists, teachers, popularizers, and now, when power
I insulted the fund and, therefore, those to whom this fund helped, recognizing it as a “foreign agent,” everyone became aware of the disinterested and noble activity of the “dynasty”. How very common in Russia, real glory comes only after the start of persecution or after the death provoked by someone.

As we see, the power is not shy to use the terrible Soviet history, the term "foreign agent", reminiscent of the vocabulary of Dzerzhinsky, Vyshinsky, Andropovs and others like them. These are, like other signs - suggests that the worst traditions of the Soviet, even the Stalinist past openly rise to the shield. The authorities do not hide that the reason for the charges of the fund, fine and other persecution is some kind of money assistance to the opposition in one form or another. This means that the deciduous in size and significance, which is not aimed at political goals, outweighs that huge, purposeful and unprecedented in its scale to help science and education, which the Fund provided for many years. As the Minister of Justice of Russia put it: "Perhaps there were positive points in the activities of the Fund." I would like to ask after that: and the announcement of the Foreign Agent Fund is a positive moment in the minister's own activities? Very soon it will be clear to everyone.

I consider the reprisal against the Dynasty Foundation a blow to Russian science and education, comparable in its consequences with reprisal against the Academy

The authorities demonstrated: dozens are completely indifferent to her, if not hundreds of statements of scientists, teachers, public organizations, scientific councils and intelligentsia, which contained requests to remove the meaningless accusation from the Honored Fund in the interests of science and education now in a difficult situation. There were no such intensity of protests for a long time, although indifference and rudeness in relation to a well -deserved person are not news. Similar contempt for the entire community of scientists was manifested two years ago, when there was an unexpected, secretly prepared and roughly worked out defeat of the Russian Academy of Sciences. I consider the reprisal against the Fund a blow to Russian science and education, comparable in its consequences with reprisal against the Academy.

The authorities cannot but know what a blow she inflicted that wonderful
Young scientists who at once stop paying the scholarships of the fund, as well as those who recently received the funds of the Fund, to those whose conferences the Fund promised to support ... It is easy to imagine how many opponents the authorities gave rise to this action. Dmitry Peskov’s cynical remark: “You can continue the activity as a foreign agent,” the advice of one of the scientists from the Stalinist “sharashki”, given the top of the fate, reminded me: “And you work here, we will create all the conditions.”

The authorities want to openly warn us: every private financial
Help, even useful for science and education, should be made only from funds located directly in Russia, and only funds that have no contacts with abroad or those who, the authorities, criticize it. Such primitive ideas of the authorities about the modern international scientific life and the prohibitions arising from them guarantee Russia in the near future a complete separation from world science. As one French political scientist noted, "authoritarian power does not like when someone else, moreover, performs its functions, inaccessible to it." And the authorities themselves, as we see, cannot cope with the problems of the organization of science and provide genuine assistance to scientists.

Only three decades ago, the Soviet dogma collapsed, and the funds, "abandoned by the dogma, refused." And here again she came to life. I think, not for long

When in the 1990s, American mathematicians raised about a million dollars to help colleagues from Russia in a difficult situation when George Soros, the French Mathematics Foundation and other funds did the same, at least with delay, thanked them for this? No, she, in accordance with Soviet standards, suspects: this help is a trap for those who accept it. As the President of Russia recently put, the distributors of these grants "rummage even in schools." Familiar aggressive logic of a well -known organization!

The general conclusion arising from the previous one: the authorities hints that it is against grants, against all help, and soon, probably, the authorities will be against contacts with organizations and separate
representatives of the West. Where were we again?

I see no reason to believe that the story with the Dynasty Foundation -
The result of some inconsistency in the actions of different forces in power. There is no doubt that this is a focused action carried out with the knowledge and
Even on the tip of the main persons. Perhaps someone in power “regrets” what happened, holds the figure in his pocket, but the case has already been brought to the end.

My conclusions are based only on the case with the Dynasty Foundation. If we turn to a wider range of questions (which I will not do here), then the conclusions will be even more difficult. But I will bring one one. There are fundamental unshakable disagreements (in particular, on the indicated occasion) between the Russian government, its first persons, on the one hand, and a number of scientists and some representatives of the intelligentsia on the other. Unfortunately, the scientific environment of recent years has not put forward a figure comparable to Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov by the courage of the formal issues of state importance to the authorities themselves. This reproach should be attributed to the entire scientific community of Russia.

In Russia today there is no possibility of open and serious discussion of pressing issues. The existing political institutions do not perform this function. The fake meetings of the President "with the people" make an oppressive impression. All political parties (even opposition) do not enjoy the sufficient trust of society. The notorious numbers of support for the president can not be considered as card blanche for any decisions and initiatives of the authorities. Unfortunately, the confidence is growing that the current Russian government does not understand the true seriousness of its disagreements with a significant part of the intelligentsia, tend to explain disagreement with its actions by the machinations of enemies. There is nothing stupid than this old Soviet dogma, there is nothing more harmful to those administrative funds that the authorities want to "rectify" the situation. Only three decades ago, the Soviet dogma collapsed. And here again she came to life. I think, not for long.

Anatoly Vershik - St. Petersburg mathematician, laureate of the 2014 Dynasty Award ("Life dedicated to mathematics")