Appeal from the Scientific Council of the Lebedev Physical Institute

The events of recent days cause us deep concern. On the morning of October 30, people with machine guns and wearing masks detained Nikolai Kolachevsky, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and director of the Lebedev Physical Institute. The director was brought to the Institute and interrogated for 6 hours in his office, then he was taken home, where a search was carried out, and in the evening he was taken to the Investigative Committee. During the searches, both in the office and at home, everything was turned upside down in search of objects, valuables and information “obtained by criminal means.” The institute at that time was filled with people in masks and with machine guns. Problems arose due to the activities of the Trioptics company, which leases several rooms from the FIAN on a contractual basis. A small company produces optical elements: mirrors, substrates, plates and lenses.

N. N. Kolachevsky, a prominent Russian scientist, a specialist in the field of precision laser spectroscopy, whose work is known both in our country and abroad. Under his leadership, the Institute has made significant progress in recent years. A unique center for high-temperature superconductivity named after. V.L. Ginzburg, the topics of scientific research were updated, many young researchers appeared at the Institute. The Institute occupies a leading position in scientific publications. Employee salaries have increased significantly. Let us remind you that one of the three main goals of the national project “Science” and Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 204 of May 7, 2018 is “creating attractive conditions for leading Russian and foreign scientists and promising young researchers to work in the Russian Federation.” Therefore, we consider the events that occurred to be very alarming. The “action of intimidation” carried out, when the Institute was filled with armed men in masks, its director was locked in his office for six hours, and the work of the administration was blocked, shows complete disrespect for the employees of the oldest scientific center in Russia on the part of law enforcement agencies. We emphasize that there were no real reasons for such large-scale actions. It seems that law enforcement agencies are simply not aware of the consequences of their actions, as a result of which the Institute has suffered colossal reputational damage, and the law enforcement agencies themselves have been discredited in the eyes of the scientific community. It is impossible to imagine that this could happen in any civilized country in which law enforcement agencies deal with real and not fictitious problems.

In this regard, we express our solidarity and support to the Director of the Lebedev Physical Institute, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolai Nikolaevich Kolachevsky, and our deep concern about the latest events.

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