Automators in Fian

On the morning of October 30, 2019, passing through the entrance, I noticed two machine gunners standing in the corner, but in a hurry I didn’t attach much importance to this: think, two machine gunners - maybe they brought money to an ATM. I quickly forgot about it, doing my business. However, closer to the evening, events began to acquire a more interesting turn: I heard that there was riot police at the institute, that some general departments were searched and therefore they did not accept any documents there. I already learned about the further from the media.

Here is how the REN TV channel commented on what was happening: “Just an hour ago, investigators ended the search in the apartment of the director of the Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolai Kolachevsky ... According to our data, with the support of the force detachment, he was taken right in the office, before that they collected phones from all employees. And such rigid actions indicate that quite serious evidence has already been collected in this case. It is known that investigative actions may be associated with the overestimation of prices for state contracts for repair and construction work at the institute itself. It is possible that these schemes turned under the control of Kolachevsky. ”

Based on such plots, the layman naturally - you can trace this from comments on the news - made a conclusion: they steal! However, some publications tried to seriously understand the situation, and then a completely different picture emerged. Is it described in detail in the article “Gazeta.ru” “ Cosmic smuggling? What were the director of Fiana . ” A simple story can be stated in several sentences. A small company renting a premises in the Trinity Technopark of Fiana bought several glass substrates in China and applied a special coating on them, fulfilling the order for the manufacture of optical windows for meteorological stations. About a year ago, four windows safely went through customs to Germany, two more were subsequently detained. A rather strange examination was carried out, after which an administrative case was instituted against the company. Then it was closed, but after a while the FSB became interested in it. On October 24, 2019, a criminal case was already instituted, the result of which was a special operation in Fian.

So, a special operation with the participation of the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, thirty or forty machine gunners was a consequence - we will call a spade a spade - a case sucked from the “double -purpose product smuggling” - optical windows worth 2-3 hundred thousand rubles. There is a striking inconsistency of the scale of the involved forces and seriousness of the “atrocities” (if we assume that such was in reality).

So why did Fian and its directors have the whole country, causing serious damage to the reputation? It is doubtful that the collision be associated only with someone’s personal interests and antipaths-everything was done too defiantly. Probably, at least one of the goals of an indicative action was the desire to “send a signal” to the academic community now fashionable. It was not for nothing that one of the most famous Russian institutions was chosen for this, glorious not only by scientific achievements, but also by free -thinking (seven Nobel Prize winners, including the Laureate of the Nobel Prize of the World Academician A. D. Sakharov).

In this context, the date of initiation of criminal proceedings is paid attention to on October 24. The case was instituted immediately after the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences turned to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation with an appeal to revise the sensational order, which establishes excessively tough and petty regulation of communication with foreigners. The Decree of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences said that "restrictions, or petty regulation of contacts of scientists from different countries that do not participate in secret developments, are counterproductive and lead to isolation and stagnation of the Russian scientific sphere." And after this statement, it was immediately “discovered” how dangerous matter are contacts with foreigners: double -purpose smuggling! The conclusion should beg itself: the eye and the eye are needed for these scientists and institutions, you can not let everything go by itself. Therefore, do not express dissatisfaction, it is not for nothing that such orders are issued, it is not in vain that control is intensified.

The only question is, what is the price of such “signals” for the country.

Already for a rather significant time, measures are being taken to attract foreign scientists to Russian universities and institutions, Russia is involved in international scientific projects, it is said about the need to develop international scientific cooperation - everything is for Russian science to grow and develop. Many billions of rubles are expended annually for these purposes. Great efforts are also made to attract youth to Russian science and the formation of youth, billions of rubles are also expended annually for these purposes through various grant programs. This is on the one hand. And on the other hand, the state carefully depreciates the invested billions of rubles, raising extra barriers on its own and placing slingshots. And at the same time sending young scientists rather consistent signals.

Foreign grants? Think seven times before contacting this, looking at the misadventures of the elderly and sick physicist Viktor Kudryavtsev. Contacts with foreigners? The matter is troublesome and difficult, is it worth it? Export of high -tech products? Take your time, you will always have time to sit down. It is not surprising that not at all stupid young scientists begin to think about whether they want to involuntarily turn out to be “traitors of their homeland” and “smugglers”. And, thinking, draw well -defined conclusions.

When the day after the mask show in Fiana, I went to work, one famous scientist from another institute called me and asked what was happening with us? He explained that his students and graduate students with round eyes read messages in the media about a search with machine gunners in the Fian and conclude: "We need to leave here."

And then another question arises: who causes greater damage to the country - the one who legally sends several glasses with pompous films abroad (even suppose that they can be put on a military satellite), or the one who inflating a indicative criminal case from this, turning into dust enormous efforts and multi -billion dollar budget investments? The answer, in my opinion, is obvious.

Evgeny Onishchenko