"This all turns our country into a black civilization hole"

Medinsky remained at a degree. Historians explain what this means for Russian science

On July 7, the Dissertation Council of Belgorod State University refused to deprive the Minister of Culture of Russia Vladimir Medinsky degree of Doctor of Historical Sciences. He defended his dissertation in 2011, and since then professional researchers have constantly criticized this work ( read more about this here ). Medusa asked historians to share their sensations from a decision adopted in Belgorod and try to assess the damage caused to Russian humanitarian science.

Nikita Sokolov

Historian, publicist, candidate of historical sciences, deputy executive director of Yeltsin Center

Now, in connection with the dissertation of Medinsky, there is a conversation about the allegedly present plagiarism there, but the claims to work not even that. The fact is that this work is fundamentally anti -scientific. Medinsky does not understand the device of modern historical science, and its composition is not built on evidence. I really liked how one of the reviewers said that a cave source was used in his work, because otherwise it cannot be called.

Medinsky does not understand at all that there is a difference between history and fiction. His work is an empty chatter. Nevertheless, Medinsky defended this kind of suitable work anywhere, probably, on the same non -suitable council. But if the Belgorod Council Council really considered the dissertation on the merits and recognized it with a scientific text, then this is a very sad fact not only for the Belgorod Council, the authority of which will be inflicted a very heavy blow, but also for the Russian scientific corporation. Of course, the decision of the council is not final, and the Higher Attestation Commission [Higher Certification Commission] and the Ministry of Education and Science will still be engaged in this - there is still hope. But if these authorities do not work, this will mean that the science and certification system in Russia really does not work - and this is a great threat to national security. After all, our scientific degrees will cease to admit in the world, and our science will be in isolation. The consequences will be very serious.

And the point is not at all in Medinsky. It’s just that the horror that struck Russian science is clearly visible with his example. In many ways, on the example of the minister, it would be correct to start clearing this field. There is hope for a fair decision of the Higher Attestation Commission and the Ministry of Education and Science - but she decreases and decreases. I think the fact that none of the scientists seriously dares to criticize the work of Medinsky, suggests that the university environment is now non -autononically from the state.

Irina Karatsuba

Candidate of historical sciences, publicist

The situation with Medinsky and his dissertations (he has three of them, and each of them has big questions) very well shows our general situation in the humanities. We see practically the absence of an expert community, the lack of criteria and even the lack of meaning. Medinsky is not the first. The same can be said about the dissertations [leader of the LDPR Vladimir] Zhirinovsky, [leader of the Communist Party of Gennady] Zyuganov and many other officials.

This is just a complete devaluation and depreciation of science, community, meanings. This all turns our country into a black civilization hole. Well, and, of course, the absolutely impudent, shameless personality of Medinsky. In his last dissertation, a lot was rewritten from my former graduate student Natalia Voshchinskaya - she defended herself in Russia with her scientific work and became a candidate of sciences in cultural studies, but after writing a dissertation, she was not hired in Russia and was able to arrange only in Paris. He perverted this brilliant work, reinterizing its meaning.

In his last opus, he completely brazenly stated that the facts have no value at all, and if the myth is spiritual, then it has more values ​​than the facts. I am very sorry for the Belgorod Scientific Council, I think that they were not unanimously voted for him, but on the other hand, their decision is also a sentence of our science and our scientific advice.

I really appreciate the efforts of the “disserte” [an organization struggling with plagiarism in scientific work], which tried to compete with Medinsky, but we see that the evil is invincible in this system. It is impossible to wait for some adequate solution to this issue from the Ministry of Education, which is headed by Olga Vasilieva, because Vasilieva is a faithful party soldier, and the Medinsky party will not surrender. Nevertheless, it makes sense to continue to fight scientists, because it is always necessary to resist, because this allows a person to remain in a situation of total division, allows you to stay in scientists in a situation of the total collapse of science and education.

Sergey Mironenko

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Scientific Director of the State Archive of the Russian Federation

Claims to Medinsky [according to the content of the dissertation] were presented by a very authoritative Ural community, but they remained unheard.

Only this will not affect the authority of the professional scientific environment. How can this delusional dissertation influence something? Nobody from the professional environment considers Medinsky scientists. Medinsky calls the story not by science - which means that he needs to assign the degree of candidate of mythological sciences. Scientists did everything that depended on them to open their eyes to everyone. And the fact that nobody needs it with us is already a matter of politics, not science.

Want to know more about Vladimir Medinsky? Read the investigation of the Medusa specialist Ivan Golunov “Medinsky and partners” - about how former business colleagues help the Minister of Culture of Russia in his work.

Andrey Yurganov

Professor of the Department of Russian History of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages of the Faculty of Archival of the Historical and Archive Institute of the Russian State University

It is clear that in this case we are not talking about the defense of the doctoral dissertation of the scientist, but about the defense of the doctoral dissertation of the Ministry of Culture. In this context, it is clear that the Minister of Culture will always overcome everyone. I am sorry for the scientific council of the University of Belgorod because they were in a very unenviable position. Medinsky in his work prevents scientific and ideological in one heap, he defended the right to ideology in the context of science. And this is wrong, it is impossible to replace science with ideology - it will never grow to science. Medinsky believes that if history is subjective in places, then you can add ideology there. Every healthy person understands him to be wrong.

It is clear that from such a company as the Ministry of Culture of Medinsky they will not be resigned for this, the state suffers a naughty Minister of Culture - and will endure, because otherwise they will have to admit their wrong, they themselves put it on this post.

What remains scientists? Ultimately, they only have to spit in the face of the state. This whole story is not about the dissertation of Medinsky, but about how our state turned into a group. Our official is the main thing in everything - and even in science, in which he does not understand at all.

Boris Kolonitsky

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Faculty of History of the European University in St. Petersburg

After the incident with an assessment of the dissertation of Medinsky, we can say for sure that the University of Belgorod did not add authority. This incident is unlikely to affect the image of Russian science as a whole, because, fortunately, few will be judged by Russian science and scientists in general. Only now the standards for obtaining scientific degrees can decrease after that. After all, people have a precedent before their eyes that since the low-grade, unscientific work of Medinsky with completely unreliable sources was appreciated highly and even the degree for it was given, then why not evaluate the bad work of some ordinary applicant as highly.

Irina Kravtsova recorded