Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) may soon gain regulatory authority over international scientific cooperation under newly proposed legislation, the business daily Vedomosti reported Monday, citing anonymous government sources.
If passed, the bill would require scientists to obtain FSB approval before engaging in research collaboration with foreign entities and individuals. The Russian government would be tasked with determining which exact areas of scientific work would fall under the FSB’s purview.
The law would also regulate foreign-owned scientific institutions in Russia, according to Vedomosti. Universities and research institutions would likewise need to publish their existing foreign cooperation agreements.
According to Vedomosti’s sources, the bill was drafted by Russia’s Education and Science Ministry and has received broad support from key stakeholders, including the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Kurchatov Institute, a nuclear research facility led by President Vladimir Putin’s close associate Mikhail Kovalchuk. The institute oversees an association of dozens of Russian universities involved in “mega-science projects” requiring international collaboration.
Vedomosti did not specify when lawmakers are expected to vote on the proposed legislation.
“The bill was developed to ensure the national interests of our country, and such approval by the FSB will strengthen control over the transfer of scientific results outside of Russia, without violating freedom of scientific creativity,” Vladimir Gruzdev, who chairs the Association of Lawyers of Russia, told the newspaper.
The proposed legislation, which would amend Russia’s law on science and technology policy, comes amid a recent wave of treason arrests and convictions of hypersonic missile scientists, as well as heightened scrutiny of academics with foreign contacts.
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