It is a tragedy of historical proportions that a country with so much potential (not just brilliant, inventive scientists but world-class thinkers in all disciplines) is being destroyed by Putin and his acolytes. Putin has reduced Russia to a corrupt petro-state. Anything of value that a Russian scientist or entrepreneur creates is immediately appropriated by a Putin mobster. Stay in Russia and have your lifesblood labors stolen....or....come to the West and start the next Google. I wonder what an intelligent person would choose?....
2
Maybe Putin curbs innovation and entrepreneurship to avoid competition from newbie billionaires.
Bad news is that too many people in Russia accept such sort of action. Brut force against its own population is what makes Russians to applaud. I think, that generations, born in the age of slavery, must pas away.
Here in Los Angeles I run into well educated Russians from time to time. They are desperate to not go back.
1
Under communism, scientists were (willing or unwilling) slaves of the state, rewarded by perks such as apartments, dachas and occasional foreign travel.
Under Yeltsin scientists had to sell themselves to the highest bidder just to feed their families.
Under Putin, scientists are expected to be slaves of the state, and also subject to threats and extortion from state-linked oligarchs. No wonder Russian science is shriveling and there has been a steady brain drain.
1
Peter Pomerantsev, in his "Nothing is true and everything is possible", in 2015, detailed this type of Russian,uh, Soviet, operation.
"They searched the office of the institute’s director ..."
"... another team searched her parents’ apartment."
The article never mentions any search warrants. What does Russian law require? What is the usual practice?
"They rifled through her [Kanorskaya's] possessions in search of evidence to prove an accusation ..."
How does she know what they were searching for? Is that based on what she was told or is that an inference?
1
The FSB, has a ''checklist'' of actors in the Former Soviet Union. This is just so that 'FEAR' is set up. There is no guilty parties. Just FEAR. The FSB will hit all ministries until there are none left. Its just re-establishing norms of FEAR of the FSB. No one is left without FEAR. Vladimir Putin is looking to re-start a Soviet Era State, and this is one of those columns.
How far removed from this are we in the US?
1
Well the chances of an FSB raid in the US is about zero, I hope !
1
@Frank ,
no, if you don't trod the trodden path in American academic research institutions, you may only lose your funding and, subsequently, your job.
Tell me why it is a surprise that Putin sends armed intelligence officers to the homes of scientists? Isn’t this just how totalitarian regimes like his keep the people oppressed?
2
When the CIA is constantly seeking regime change, from China, Russia, Syria, and a hundred other countries, how can any government feel secure? Right now, a CIA operative is trying to take down the President of the United States.
1
Frightening story. And here we are in the USA dealing with Putin's raid on American politics, looking for and getting control of our president. If we don't get rid of Trump, and soon, we may be in for some more Putin raids. Putin and Trump have one major quality in common - Greed. The Russian raids described in this article are at their core about controlling the money of small but successful entrepreneurs. In our country Trump makes the presidency into a money making operation for himself and the family.
Greed is a disease that seems to be spreading and metastasizing here and elsewhere in the world without any checks and balances. It is really bad that Trump and Putin aligned to control the US. Thank God for the courage of Democrats, and government diplomats and others who testify against Corruptrumputin.
3
It's like the NYC real estate/construction business the president grew up in. She did not buy the insurance on offer.
2
This under the leadership of a man Donald Trump admires, a man whose respect and "friendship" Trump craves.
4
A country where only one man can be great can only be as great as its great man.
27
@Urmas Alas A country where only one man can be great is not a great country.
5
@Urmas Alas What does Trump have to do with this?
Well, at least those talented Russian scientists are welcome here in the US... oh, wait. Trump hates science. Maybe not.
3
What makes a country and its economy „great“?
Is it controlled talent? Is it controlled people? Is it controlled opinion? The Russiarization of Western economies will be their downfall. Because their is no such thing as „guided democracy“.
"Mr. Putin has for years called on scientists to look beyond their books and laboratories, and use their world-class talents to help build a modern economy."
Nothing to fear from Putin & Co. They do a great job of self destruction;
Russia continues political apoptosis. Other nations can and do scoop up these invaluable souls and minds. Trusting the U. S. is available and eager to offer sanctuary and support to the inevitable 'brain drain' that ensues.
Terror as an instrument of power was perfected by Stalin. The key is being uncertain and unable to know what can get one into difficulties and fearful of displeasing those running the state. The goal is to render the masses passive and conforming, predictable and in fear of being thought to be non-conforming. Persecuting people who are not guilty of anything is part of the use of terror.
26
There is nothing surprising about this raid to any Russian. These are classic Soviet era tactics courtesy of Putin, in whose mind important assets such as these scientists must be controlled and ideally frightened. I don't buy the story line about the military grade glass; the raid was a show of force. I don't know why anyone would be mystified by it.
2
For reasons that are far beyond my ability to understand, Russia has always, and continues to produce amazingly talented and creative academics in many fields. Its a shame that this tradition and global resource cannot be better appreciated and cultured by the Russian government.
2
A person can expand ones limits without threatening those in power in academia. Freedom that is engaging but safe.
@Steven Weiss ,
I recall once watching a documentary on steel production in Russia. They featured a female crane operator. She was reading a Tolstoy novel during her break up in the cab. Russians always valued education and strive to excel. The universities are excellent at affordable price. They don't need semi professional sports teams and resort-like amenities to boost their appeal.
1
I agree with the Russians let these academics know WE run the country. Just because you have an "alphabet" after your name means you get paid more BUT you get paid by US. Put the fear of God into these elitists and let them know they have the brains but we have the guns.
Putin is facing a pretty desperate future with Russian population declining, Russian scientists emigrating and expansionist and strengthening China eyeing Siberia for lebensraum.
2
One constant, major trait of fascism is it's unproductive and unsustainable "business model": plundering, looting and raiding.
Maybe that's one reason the far right likes the image of hhe Vikings.
If they don't have enough natural resources to plunder like Russia does, they run up debts in no time, steal central bank currency and gold reserves, then plunder that part of the population the consider the enemy, then turn abroad to raid and plunder more.
Just like Hitler did or Trump does, or Mateo Salvini, who, while in power, thought about confiscating the Italian central bank gold reserves.
Now Putin's fascist regime (ideological foundations found here: https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/03/16/ivan-ilyin-putins-philosopher-of-russian-fascism/ )
operates by plundering itself at home and from neighbors like Ukraine, where he also plunders "Slavic genes" for Mother Russia.
3
For the record : The Russians didnt "figure out" how to build the hydrogen bomb they were helped by American scientists who betrayed their country
4
Trump is jealous!
4
Putin screws around in American politics to cover his incompetence as the leader of what should be a great country. And we let him do it. Mind boggling.
4
Why such a shock when guns drawn cops forcefully enter an establishment. It happens all the time in US.
Felicity Huffman home was raided at early morning hours by masked cops with guns drawn and she was handcuffed and lead away. An unwarranted show of force.
So, before we show “outrage”, let’s look at what happens in our own country.
7
Hard to believe, but Republicans really admire this and want to bring it here.
4
And while this is going on, Russian gamers are complaining about the depiction of Russian soldiers committing human rights violations in the new edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Human rights violations confirmed in areas of the world as diverse as Syria, Crimea, and Georgia. A schizophrenic political culture full of paranoia and self inflicted injuries.
3
I realize that I write this from one of Russia's colonies that seems to become more "Russiafied" by the day, so who am I to comment?
Russia is a klepto-thugocracy with a moribund economy of grifters skilled at nothing better than skimming all the cream off the top of the economic bottle and leaving precious little milk behind.
No market economy can thrive under the perpetual insecurity of harrassment by state "security" forces raiding workplaces, intimidating scientific talent and charging innovators with crimes against the State.
In such a setting, nobody will innovate. No business risks will be taken, and Russia's national economy will continue to tread water among its GDP peers like Italy or Portugal.
2
So you get searched and seized and they don't tell you WHY? Russians should do all in their power to remove Putin.
2
Thank you Putin for the stream of amazingly talented Russian people I have been privileged to employ.
133
Awful. It’s almost as if those people in power (who are corrupt) assume everyone else is as well.
If the Russians are able to fully escape >300 years of oppression, they will have to move towards a much more free and open society. They abound in talented people, have a great wealth of natural resources and a huge land mass.
They have made progress since the end of communism but the corruption at the top levels of the political and business class is stifling. The arbitrary nature of these attacks against ordinary citizens is frightening. As is the suppression of free speech if it counters Putin.
110
@Michael in general I think it is wrong to condemn an entire people for the actions of their government, but given how bad the leadership of Russia has been for how long (centuries...) with very few, if any, bright spots, I think you have to start to place some blames on the people and culture of Russia themselves.
9
@Jay
I kind of agree... the holy Russia, and orthodox exceptionalism... there is definitely stg like that at play here unfortunately...
Russians (and I don't like to generalise but still, this is a pattern ) are scientists that systematically bark at you in conferences as if they want to destroy you - even if they intend to be nice. A mix of arrogance and super self confidence in their superiority (maybe reflecting hundreds of years of victimization and cultural exceptionalism)... It's very annoying.
7
@Michael
Those people in power who are corrupt assume someone's trying to make a profit without giving them their cut.
Sadly, this is what happens in a plutocracy. The ruling class usurps the legal system and uses it to their own ends.
Kind of like the US.
205
@Ernest Montague
the U.S. still has time to save our Constitutional Republic from the oligarchs is we stop believing what the oligarchs tell us.
15
@Ernest Montague
Kind of? LOL
7
@Ernest Montague Are you kidding?! From where I sit, it's the Obama appointed judges that are usurping the legal system, ignoring existing laws in favor of resisting Trump and the rule of law.
1
This article illustrates the danger with current GOP defense of Trump's administrative culture- it is not only illegal and unconstitutional, but it also mimics the Russian style of doing government business, a world in which checks and balances are set aside in the name of power. In addition to the damage done to the Lebedev Institute people, the sickness filters down to small business owners who cannot bring any innovations into the economy without payoffs and satisfying those in power. I met one such person while hiking in Russia- he had started a sports equipment business, employing 75 people locally but had to shut down when the government demanded "taxes" worth 100% of his profits. If Trump is not held accountable for his self-dealing, the long term result may be imbuing this quid-pro-quo abuse of power into U.S. society.
225
@Kathy
How did you get permit to hike in Russia? Foreigners are not permitted to hike while there.
2
@Moehoward I was hiking in the Beliy Irkut area of Buryatia - got on a bus, hitchhiked, and then hiked.
10
@Kathy Trump's abuse of power is doing fine with the help of Bill Barr and other Republicans. The question is will the Supreme Court hold him accountable or participate in the charade?
13
A free market economy requires, well, freedom.
4
Using military power to harass political enemies? That sort of thing could never happen in the United States.
9
Not too hard to see what's going on here. The Kremlin is basically a cartel, and cartels do not tolerate entrepreneurs making their own money on their own business ventures. You have to cut the cartel in, or they will cut you out.
So, Kanorskaya started making a little money selling glass products, and at some point, she probably slammed the door on some thugs who showed up asking for a cut. Next thing you know, her institute gets raided.
Be glad you live in America, folks.
4
Really? With Washington serving as a provincial outpost of the Kremlin, we sink ever deeper toward a Russia-style thugocracy every day.
4
@Htb
Soon to be turned into Soviet America. Brought to you by our bumbling president and his lapdogs.
3
And Trump is doing the same, out in the open. See:
"The relocation to Missouri, which the USDA estimates will save $300 million over 15 years, affects about 550 people at the Economic Research Service, an influential federal statistical agency, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which oversees a $1.7 billion portfolio of scientific grants."
Dictators don't like scientists. Maybe because they actually are smart.
8
Russia has a history of great scientific research but like Germany in WWII who lost many scientists to racism or Great Britain who is losing scientists to the looming isolationism from Brexit, Russia may suffer its own scientific brain drain from its corrupt, violent and autocratic leader.
10
Organized crime in the form of a national government is good at looting businesses but not at running them successfully.
9
Stupid thugs strong arming scientists in the hope that they will be lead to riches. A little like killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. Very trumpian.
5
Wonder if Trump will emulate his hero Putin and raid Argonne, Sandia, and Oak Ridge.
5
"Wonder if Trump will emulate his hero Putin and raid Argonne, Sandia, and Oak Ridge."
The Trump-hating paranoics are out in force for this article.
Those are national labs, and the President does not have the authority to order the FBI to "raid" anyone.
However, the FBI has investigated espionage cases at national labs. And they have made embarrassing blunders:
The Making of a Suspect: The Case of Wen Ho Lee
By Matthew Purdy
Feb. 4, 2001
New York Times
And this case involved a National Weather Service employee:
Accused of Spying for China, Until She Wasn’t
By Nicole Perlroth
May 9, 2015
New York Times
1
@Grey
Not so unlikely as it may appear.
1
It looks like the ghosts of Stalin and Beria have returned.
2
"It looks like the ghosts of Stalin and Beria have returned."
Obviously you don't know what you are talking about, and you didn't read the article.
The Times *interviewed* Ms. Kanorskaya.
And *no one* was arrested, although:
"She [Kanorskaya] was taken in for questioning by police investigators and an F.S.B. officer."
However, the Times should explain what it means by "taken in". Was Kanorskaya handcuffed or blindfolded at any time? Was she subjected to a body search? Fingerprinted? Locked in a cell? Etc.
Can anyone else say this sounds eerily familiar to Trump mobilizing the forces of our government and extorting the Ukrainians over Burisma (the whole Biden thing)?
6
@Jon Alexander
It is how totalitarian regimes are run. Look at Rhodesia bread basket of Africa to starving thanks to Mobutu.
@Jon Alexander I suspect Russia will experience a kind of mafia war internally if/when Putin or his power wanes.
1
@Donald Rhodesia? Mobutu? Totalitarian?
Please make use of Wikipedia so you can make a cogent point - Mobutu died in 1997.
Just to spell it out, neither Mugabe nor Putin operate/d totalitarian societies - they are simply horrific de facto dictators using force on the people to enrich themselves and their cronies.
1
Maybe Trump could loan Putin his sharpie,
make it all better that way.
Knowing that your business won't be confiscated on a whim is a great solace. Russia is an example of a nation where there is no rule of law, something which is actually a rare commodity in the world. Companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google, for example, like to claim they are "American" when it suits them. They're American when they benefit from our educational system, infrastructure, and laws, but when it comes time to actually pay for all of those blessings in the form of taxes, suddenly their profits end up in the Netherlands, Ireland or the Cayman Islands, sent there at the push of a button. Let them all move to Russia and see how that works out, because right now they're just freeloading here.
9
Ever since the 16th century, Russia has played a key role in the world: every other country can safely say "We're not as bad as they are in Russia!"
2
I believe this sort of thing is a ritual in small-to medium sized businesses in Russia - the F.S.B. is making sure all the correct bribes are being secured before "allowing" legal business to resume. Business owners are sometimes jailed on trumped-up charges while the sponsoring oligarch simply steals the business from them.
Take a read here: "Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia"
by Peter Pomerantsev
3
This is the kind of thing that will keep Russian science and industry inferior to other less kleptocratic nations.
4
This is a sad story. What is absolutely shocking: replace Russia with Georgia (in the USA) and the Lebedev Physics Institute with the Georgia Institute of Technology and you have the same story repeated over and over again.
3
Before you condemn the Russians
From the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)
The Chilling Surveillance and Wrongful Arrest of a Chinese-American Physics Professor
"One morning in May 2015, FBI agents showed up at Professor Xi’s house before dawn. They arrested him at gunpoint while his wife and daughters looked on, and went through the family’s home from top to bottom. The government charged Professor Xi with wire fraud, but in its court filings, it cast him as a spy for China who shared sensitive technology.
Four agonizing months later, all charges were dropped."
https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/chilling-surveillance-and-wrongful-arrest-chinese
And no, this did not occur under Trump - it occurred under the previous administration of President Obama
1
This is the type of corruption that will keep russia's economy down. Who would invest in startups, no matter how promising, when the siloviki can charge in and shut it down, arbitrarily?
It would seem someone didn't bribe the right people, as that is
"putin's way", since he himself stole huge amounts of russian rubles, and depends on the support of his chosen oligarchs.
It's a kleptocracy to be sure, and our traitor is in this mix.
2
I may actually send a link of this article to one of the members of our Town Select Board. He is kind of a sad sack in MHO, for lack of a better word, married to a Russian native and when I drove past his house earlier this week I saw a flag flying "WOMEN FOR TRUMP." I stopped, to make sure. And yes. That is what it said. I can understand her attraction....but I sent him an email saying I thought it was in poor taste for him, as an elected town official to be engaging in such blatant behavior. Everyone knows where he stands, and who he voted for, it is just kind of a "stick my finger in your eye. I will add their nae to my growing list of people to avoid.
1
They don't call it communism any longer but the elections are no less a sham and the same crooks are still robbing the country blind.
6
Unfortunately, the situation seems to be reversing back to Soviet times. Seems predictable with ex-kgb leadership. Meanwhile, birth rates are in a free fall with young talent leaving at unprecedented rates while working population is aging.
Wondering how sustainable this whole scheme they got going really is.
12
It hasn’t reversed Soviet times. It never left!!
Having seen pictures of Trump supporters wearing tee-shirts with slogans of "I'd Rather Be a Russian Than a Democrat" mocking Democrats but humiliating Russians. Clergy, scientist, political opponents, even expats live in constant fear of reprisal by the Putin mobsters (now called oligarchs in the western media). The Putin enforcers are criminals with political force which has turned Russia into one of the largest terrorist's state which prey not just foreigners but also on also their own citizens the educated elite. The Trump administration and his cult should rethink their cheer-leading relationship with Putin's Russia. This article shows the tip of the iceberg for the average Russians who live with under this mobster's rule.
33
Trying to subordinate science to political hacks is an awful way to deter human advancement towards a more human society...in this revolutionary technology supposed to fill our lives with joy instead of grief and despondency. Russia may be returning to it's old tricks, where a sick doctrine assaults reason and common sense. What a bitter pill to swallow.
7
@manfred marcus
Like US politicians do? Tell me the difference--
1
@Torontonian You got a point there. At least in a democracy, I'm told, the people would hold their representatives (politicians) accountable to avoid self-service 'a la Trump', a science denier as his donors (i.e.Big Oil) demand 'not knowing'.
Putin doesn't want intelligent people around. They might tell the truth.
Scientists are at risk, because they use their senses and "tell it like it is" (not in the Trumpian sense).
Dangerous renegades, those beacons of honesty and progress!
16
@Susan Anderson
No -- but this suggests he may not be in absolute control himself, and may be looking over his shoulder at the "siloviki" who may be signaling that they want a bigger slice of the pie and are going to take it by force.
2
All roads lead to Putin. If there is an assault, he is the one responsible.
Easy -
They didn't pay the bribe. Don't start a business in Russia without it!
5
Maybe this is connected to the mysterious nuclear explosion that killed seven physicists last August.
9
A glass company?
"... Trioptics, a company Ms. Kanorskaya set up in 2016 in partnership with a subsidiary of Rusnano ..."
A web search did not find a web site for that company, but it did find a German company called "Trioptics" that was founded in 1991.
The Times should explain why Kanorskaya named her company "Trioptics".
2
Russia is a vast dumpster of regression and poverty. It will NEVER be a superpower in any real sense of the word.
6
@David H
Seems the US can be a "superpower" with lots of regression and poverty-- wake up
@David H yet Putin and Company, for less money than one battleship or fighter he lane squad, exploited some routine kompromat of a developer who laundered money for a few of the minor elites/grifters into a decapitation of the main Adversary. We can crush them economically and but for MAD, in the battlefield as well. They got 45!to walk away from the Kurds not a shot fired. I wish we had someone like Obama who looked Putin in the eye with -try it- instead of Yes Sir
1
@Torontonian
“Regression”? Do you both mean “repression”?
Looks like the Russians like science,
as much as Republicans.
Who Nu ???
19
Foreshadowing of America if Donald Trump is re-elected.
14
Russia is a thugocracy. Thank God there was a country accepting of refugees willing to work and better themselves when my grandparents fled from there 115 years ago.
19
@Stuart And they didn't run into a wall.
More hilarious antics of physicists now executing the Russian equivalent of swatting. Huh? What?! Or the Byzantine disintegration of the Putin Empire, maybe.
3
Geez....Russia is a third world country armed as a Superpower!!
What could possibly go wrong??
22
@GXC We're indeed lucky that, so far, there have been no (almost guaranteed future) nuclear accidents, as all the "nuclear triad" parts (try to keep here, traitor) are aging. WE still have floppy drives in our ICBM silos, and the missiles are deteriorating. This is common knowledge. And what of the russian hardware (not to mention software!)? How are all those missiles and bombs maintained? Are they even maintained?
This is a great opportunity for a new 21st century SALT treaty. Let's all inspect each others weapons and storage and delivery systems for obvious "opportunities" for repairs, or, better yet, dismantling.
Hey, just kidding. I know that's just a crazy idea.
@GXC
Take a trip outside NYC into the real US before you call anyone else a third world country
Probably looking for the stolen DNC server...
22
No mystery here.
Donald Trump asked Vladimir Putin to stop Russian scientists from saying that climate change is real. Putin didn't need to be asked twice. The Russian economy relies largely on oil and natural gas being sold all over the world.....
9
If we were to view this through the rose colored glasses of American technology, it's just another example of the State and its cronies trying to control society by controlling its inventions. The same lack of innovation seems to plague the Russians as it does the Americans. Nothing of much use gets invented anymore because whoever tries to make money from their idea promptly gets mixed up in all kinds of political intrigue...much of it coming from the Government itself or their political cronies in the University system who take their money. The Russians are so focused on controlling everyone's technology that they resort to machine-gun touting goons to intimidate anyone with a good idea.
Look at SpaceX. They create a very innovative way to land rocket boosters, but not one patent emanated from the idea. They decided they didn't want to get kicked in the head by the U.S.P.T.O. Elon Musk doesn't seem to complain directly about anything, he just whines that the Feds are bullying him by symbolically talking about "an I.C.B.M. that lands". For those who are lost on the irony, why would anyone create "an I.C.B.M. that lands"?
Our companies are stagnating and our economy is stagnating because of the strangleholds placed on American invention. Stop destroying the engineering and scientific professions.
6
@W
Thank-you for your great comments.
@W This guy needs to check some of his stuff more carefully.
There's something incoherent about his comment. American innovation is doing ok all things considered. Who else is even close to us when looking at the big picture?
The real danger to engineering and science is the "know nothing" movement by the right wingers and their associated religious fanatics.
2
@W The truth is that our government is sitting on technologies it deems "dangerous" if they were to escape into the world. russia isn't the only government restricting human advancement.
1
Or maybe someone just failed to pay bribes.
8
Anti-reflection coating is probably equated with stealth technology and thus of top-secret military use.
Who knows, it just depends on how someone bends the words.
No wonder Russia's economy is not moving anywhere.
It is only a matter of time until the same happens to us here.
20
I feel sorry for Russian scientists, musicians, artists and intellectuals, who have such great gifts but have mostly been stiffled, perhaps more so than other citizens due to being perceived as greater threats. When you consider that some (eg writers and musicians) were more successful in Czarist times, which weren’t exactly enlightened, it’s a sad commentary on modern Russia.
44
@ml
And how are all the writers and independent voices in the US doing?
2
@Torontonian
Pretty good, actually.
1
Putin runs the country with the support of oligarchs and bureaucrats who are loyal to he alone. Any Russian who bothers any of them is a enemy. Unless one is in Putin’s circle of trusted fellows, the reasons for these raids and detentions and investigations will rarely be disclosed.
Dictators always oppose change, even good ones, and they see successful people as rivals, all of them. So as long as Russia is ruled as it is now, it will always be a third rate polity even to states a fraction of it’s size.
It should be pointed out that Trump’s admiration for dictators, especially Putin, is due to his failure to understand law and politics and government and international affairs. He sees them as tough guys who make their own rules, and that’s it.
56
@Casual Observer
@your first paragraph sounds very familiar, gee what other country could be like that?
6
@Casual Observer Last I looked, the US has sanctions on Russia, and has for quite a while. If Trump truly embraced Putin and his policies, those sanctions would have been lifted. Don't like Trump, but don't throw him in with Putin. No comparison.
1
The same thing has been happening in the USA to climate scientists, especially if they are in a govt. agency. We just do it in more sophisticated and less ham handed ways, just like we do our corruption and sale of politicians.
74
@whaddoino
@ or EPA or FCC or homeland security or.........fill in the blanks!
7
@George
Its jaw dropping how many of these commentators don't even see how their criticisms of the Russian government and Putin can equally apply to the US and Trump.
Thanks for one sane comment.
It's obvious the Russians have been successful in spreading this kind of nonsense here.
But in today's world, the lies get exposed quickly, and the story spreads around the world making these governments look ridiculous and adept only at shooting themselves in the foot.
10
Putin is at cross purpose with himself. He wants prosperity for Russia, I give him that. But his sneaky, dishonest, paranoid KGB brain won't allow him to trust scientists enough to let them do their work to help the country.
By now everyone who doesn't absolutely love Russia has left the country. Many of their top people came here. If Putin wants to keep the rest, he needs to change himself FROM WITHIN.
18
@Patricia It's like in game theory (something the Russians – allegedly – are good at!): if there's trust and collaboration, the entire society gets better. If not, some people may profit (a lot), but overall the entire society will turn out to be poorer. That's why countries like the Nordics, Switzerland and others are flourishing – there's a much higher level of trust among their citizens.
6
@Patricia
Putin is a fairly typical dictator. He wants prosperity for himself and his cronies, not Russia.
@Patricia I wish we knew how much effort it took to keep the various factions within Russia in line. Putin has proved himself at least effective in keeping the country appearing to have a unified power structure.
But I suspect it’s a bit of a facade. Putin’s one man and loyalty is a tough thing to gain via bribery or intimidation. I suspect Putin spends as much time scheming to stay on top internally against the other factions within his country as he does against the West. The military, FSB, and other state and non-state factions are probably constantly searching for weaknesses against Putin and each other.
I think when Putin fades, Russia will revert back to the cowboy days of the 1990s until either another dictator gains power or Democracy takes hold.
Sounds like something Trump would do.
25
Somebody in Russia's Mafia business was not happy that his "business" was not getting the expected cut from this start-ups efforts. That's all you need to know about how Russia "works", and also all you need to know about how tRump wants the USA to work... mike
30
But, the USA has been doing this sort of thing for decades. Probably with more manners and fewer masks - but armed raids, all the same.
Not only is the US extraordinarily touchy about the export of American manufactures that might have military applications, there's also a banned list of technology which OTHER countries aren't allowed to export to America's enemies.
Remember 1980s bar and cafe video games? Space Invaders 2.0, that sort of thing... Americans were arrested and convicted of exporting the video chips to Soviet bloc entities. Seems the technology 'might' have had military applications.
10
"... the US [is] extraordinarily touchy about the export of American manufactures ..."
Not just the US. Since you are posting from the UK, you might like to know about the UK Export Control Joint Unit:
"The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) administers the UK’s system of export controls and licensing for military and dual-use items."
I found that with one web search:
"uk export controls".
As an exercise, try a similar search for another country, such as Israel or Germany.
2
@nolongeradoc
Yes, but that's not relevant in this case. Russia of course would have the right to keep critical technologies from adversaries. The first commerically useful anti-reflection coating was developed by a Ukrainian scientist Olexander Smakula at Zeiss (Jena, Germany) in 1934 (he went to MIT after the war). Zeiss kept it secret as it was critical for submarine periscopes. Then later in the 30's the US discovered the same procedure and the Germans declassified it. While there have been advances in generating these coatings (leaders are in the US and Germany, e.g. Semrock, Rochester), it was likely a low price that allowed Dr. Kanorskaya to find clients abroad.
Russia's internal affairs. Observe, but stay away as far as you can.
One thing is certain, not permitting their creative people and scientists to fully unfold their capabilities for the benefit of their own country may hurt them in the long run.
One would think they have learned a few things since 1917, but apparently some lessons fell on deaf ears.
It is very hard for them to understand that private enterprise can be more than the intention to stuff one's own pockets for one's own benefit.
Current leadership was all brought up and intellectually formed before 1990. They simply do not understand the concept of market economy and its potential benefits. They all grew up being told that this is the greatest evil that needs to be eliminated from this planet.
Can one then blame them for acting like this? That country never had a real democratic government and true marked economy in its history. It will take them generations to change and adopt what they have been ingrained is unquestionable evil reigning humanity: capitalism.
Good luck to Russia and its people.
6
Well, they had a chance to see the free market in action in 90s, somehow they were not impressed, it may be were too impressed with ability of free market to bring economy down .
1
@reader
Thanks for my daily laugh-- have you looked around the US lately?
My guess is it is about internal bribery within agencies of the state. Somebody didn’t get paid. It is also possible that Putin’s authority is being challenged because the Russian economy is simply not generating enough income via low oil prices to run a bribe oriented system.
12
What has happened in the Russian sciences is a tragedy. Putin’s politics have really stymied nearly all innovation in Russia.
13
@Covert
KGB Lieut. Col. Vladimir Putin is following in Stalin's footsteps. Next he'll announce that Darwin was wrong and Lysenko was right.
2
No explanation needed. It's just the Kafkaesque environment that is prevalent in any totalitarian country. The only ones spared are the ones at the top.
13
If Putin wants to make Russia great again he needs to diversify their economy as MSB has realized as alternate fuel sources replace oil, electric cars and trucks replace gas run motors.
With a large population ,great natural resources an educated hi tech labor force could move Russia up from being an economic power rated below Italy.
6
Please, Mr. Putin, do not give such ideas to your friend, Mr. Trump. Trump already detests people like scientists and others who deal in facts. Facts are troublesome things, but most of us would prefer to face that reality than try to operate in a world of political distortion.
13
In China we now have Maoist-Xi Jinping Thought.
In Russia, we are clearly in the orbit of Stalinist-Putinism, with the remarkable difference that the Russian Orthodox Church is now a partner in the autocracy rather than an opponent.
And who will lead the global democratic opposition?
Sadly, under Trump, certainly NOT the US. A terrible, terrible thought.
22
Once you hand power to business or to “security services” or bureaucrats or bullies— don’t be surprised if they use it in ways that benefits them alone.
The main thing is that there is no truth and hence no real corrective feedback mechanism possible.
Ironically, this us what Putin originally offered the warring oligarchs: some ground truth of who is doing what to whom.
Unfortunately the secrecy race will consume even bystanders.
1
Pay attention, USA. This is where we are headed.
25
@CitizenB
With help of freedom and democracy loving GOP.
1
This could be a future article describing law enforcement attacks on scientists in America should trump remain in office indefinitely - replacing real scientists with crony scientists to con the people with fake science, climate denial, clean coal fantasies, etc. Or maybe it be considered deja vu if you are a Chinese scientist working in America now. Like trump, Putin is attacking science - or is it like Putin, trump is attacking science? Either way, trump is making America more like Russia every day.
Ego = Mob Character squared.
Gas has military uses - maybe Russia should halt all gas sales to Europe. Virtually everything has a military use. Even carrots to feed soldiers is a military use. "Military use" is merely a pretext for control used by Russian and American governments and their crony connected profiteers.
In Russia "security services" are to security what in America the EPA is to environmental protection.
6
@ PAN - If your statement means:
"In Russia "security services" are to security what in America the [Trump- era] EPA is to environmental protection."
then I agree. If your statement includes the EPA under every administration, then I do not.
1
It may be that Putin is spending too much time disrupting other country when he can barely manage his own country. Between his inability to allow protesters to having to poison some people to now raiding science institutions to nuclear accidents cover ups, maybe he should dispense with his dangerous shenanigans and start focusing on managing his own country better.
Using violence and threats to shut people up does not fix the problems. Hasn’t he figured that out yet?
8
@Morgan
Ah a comment from the soon to be free republic of Alberta-- maybe you should join the US--
@Torontonian
Toronto? That near Novosibirsk?
It seems that we are throttling full steam ahead into a global repressive and authoritarian amalgam of governments devoted to controlling the minds and freedoms and academics the world over.
We are entering a dark age for humanity with very few glimmers of hope it seems. The base Darwinian animal instincts of might over right will soon eclipse every enlightened society and make animal farms out of entire societies, ruled by the most murderous, rabid and vicious among us.
It seems unstoppable as those who know better fall lockstep in line with the fascist impulses running amok globally.
There are greater and greater perils ahead and it seems we will all pay the price for the brute forces of dictators and despots who have nothing but contempt for liberal democracy and human dignity.
14
Any comment might lead to a doorknob toxin lethal to ten elephants and a kangaroo. Regardless, Mr. Putin seems to like disorder and destraction as a political tool instead of innovation and enterprise. The US and Russia need to awaken to minting more and smarter scientist as coating glass seems a far walk down the road away from invention and innovation. China is 100% aligned with their innovations community and will awaken in 2050 as the undisputed new enterprise leader in the world.
5
Perhaps it's like Chairman Mao's cultural revolution. Attacking the intellectuals and the teachers.
5
It seems strange that the reporters on this story never sought clarification on “military application” of said glass. How can we assess who is telling the truth if we don’t know what type of use this glass may actually have?
3
@Common man - Most likely it's something the Germans could make themselves but doing it with Chinese manufactured glass and Russian scientists adding the reflective coating was cheaper.
3
@Craig H.
Wow were you there?
We’re any US contract operatives involved?
2
The true colors of Putin on display ... in Russia, in Europe and UK, and unfortunately here in the US.
6
Stories like this.
This is what made the NYT a world-class news outlet, before MAGA and wokeness became obsessions.
6
Americans take note. This is what happens when your government is run by a cabal of gangsters and devoted capitalists every one. The favored few get the money and power. Everybody else gets raided. Or shot.
17
@Cody McCall
Like Max Blumenthal-- yup every day the US reveals its true self-- and its ugly
It’s all about money and power. Ask yourself why Putin and his boy Trump (Mitch McConnell and Republicans) are targeting science... what could possibly be the reason? For capitalists it’s because science can be used to expose the harmful activities of their corporations, among other reasons that limit their ability to amass more billions. But for Putin (and probably men like Mitch), I believe he is a psychopath of the highest sadistic Machiavellian order and he not only wants power and money, but he wants to watch the suffering, chaos and destruction he creates. He wants to see the world burn. If we humans don’t do something about the sociopaths and psychopaths among us, they are going to destroy us. It may already be too late. These psychopathic (sociopaths) world leaders, corporate leaders and men in positions of power (banks, courts, religions, politics) are the biggest threat to humanity.
11
Trump awaits his instructions.
4
The more things change, the more things stay the same. This kind of behavior caused the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the west to win the Cold War. Nice to see Russia sabotaging itself at the same time they are running advanced cyber disinformation campaign around the world.
21
Treasonous trump would no doubt love to emulate such attacks on American inconvenient scientific infrastructure and citizenry -- with barr waiting in the wings for the go ahead.
127
@el,
And if Trump did, his supporters should think to spend their time looking over their shoulders: a knowledge of science, and especially chemistry, can be a dangerous thing.
31
"... American inconvenient scientific infrastructure and citizenry ..."
If you are going to post paranoid theories about what "trump would no doubt love to emulate", you will need to be more specific. Name ONE example of "inconvenient scientific infrastructure".
2
@el
Why is it necessary for commentators here to turn every story that has nothing to do with Trump something to do with Trump even though he is not even mentioned in the story? It's getting as tedious as the current line up of Democratic candidates. If you want a Russian connection please recall where Sanders spent his honeymoon - I suppose the palm trees and sandy beaches of Moscow appealed to his romantic side.
3
While I feel for the scientists, it is good to see a world class manipulator like Putin cause disruption in his own society for once instead of ours or EC nations.
42
This story has a lot of holes:
"... add an antireflection coating to meet the specifications of a customer in Germany."
Germany is a NATO member, and coated optics can indeed be used for military applications. Binoculars and rangefinders are two possibilities.
Anyway, why would "a customer in Germany" need to import coated optics?
"... her shipper in Moscow suggested that she get a permit from a government agency that monitors exports to make sure they do not have military uses."
It's a good idea to consult a law firm that specializes in export regulations BEFORE starting an import/export business. See, for example:
"Import/Export For Dummies" by John J. Capela.
'... the security service’s department for economic crimes ... had “received information” that [the] company was breaking the law by trying to export controlled items.'
That's a very big hole. Where did that "information" come from? Were Kanorskaya and her lawyers given access to that "information"?
"... Olga Kanorskaya, the daughter of a Lebedev scientist and the owner of a private company that, from an office she rented at the institute, built up a small business selling precision glassware."
That "office" needs to be better explained. Was Kanorskaya getting reduced rent? Where were the manufacturing operations located? Was the company using its own equipment or institute equipment?
7
@WNK
Were you on the “Boris Nemtsov Defamation Committee”? Do you ask questions such as “why would any good Russian like Comrade Navalny try to run for election against Dear Leader Putin?”? Perhaps you think Malaysian Air Flight 17 and KAL 007 were shot down by aliens instead of Russians?
12
@WNK
ANYTHING can be use for "military applications." It's just another way in Russia to keep control of people in their surveillance state.
Lots of holes indeed, such as your location, comradka.
7
... and who was she bribing? And who was she not paying off?
Important questions in Russia.
2
Most likely, the case is due to Trioptics splitting from Rusnano. This is a Mafia state and Trioptics didn't want to pay for protection.
61
"... Trioptics didn't want to pay for protection."
That's ridiculous. The article clearly says that "Ms Kanorskaya ... [bought] out its [Rusnano's] 35 percent share in Trioptics".
However, the Times should have used a less inflammatory term than "split": "Ms Kanorskaya later split from the state-funded company [Rusnano] ..."
This sounds right to me. Some security aparitchnik wants a slice of the pie.
7
@WNK
Oh dear, who had the audacity to use the word "split" when they meant "parted ways" or "separated".
Looks like Ara's comment hit a little close to home for "WNK" from ".".
Very happy I don’t live in Russia!
38
This is what happens when you start to believe your own propaganda in a highly corrupt society. Get ready, America !
50
Suggestion to Russian physicists: attend scientific conferences in Western Europe (not the fascist Eastern European states like Hungary) and then claim asylum. I'd suggest traveling on to the U.S. but Traitor Trump will tell you to go back where you came from, or turn you in to his mentor Putin.
81
@george eliot Putin's regime is actively trying to prevent them from doing so, just like they make it incredibly hard for the global science community to visit and work with scientific institutes in Russia. Even if they manage to move to say western Europe, they're not really safe. Just look at all the assassinations that has happened on ex Russians (political opponents, double agents etc.) living in western Europe since Putin first came to power. It's not even been three months since the last likely assassination:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/09/03/killing-berlin-raises-uncomfortable-questions-about-germanys-relationship-with-vladimir-putin/
Not saying Russian scientists living in western Europe necessarily should be worried of being assassinated, but there's no way they can feel safe or entirely free from Kremlin's influence, no matter where they go.
16
Most Russian scientists have families. I am a US citizen with extended family all over Russia, and even after living abroad for over a decade I would not do anything to draw unwanted attention of FSB for fear of my family losing jobs, going to jail or suffering some peculiar accident.
60
The increasing oppression and targeting of intellectuals will only add to the brain drain that has bedeviled Russia in recent years. The loss of talent is devastating to the Russian economy and its national prestige.
105
@Alex they won’t be coming to the US...
2
@Alex : Really? "[T]argeting of intellectuals" and "bedeviled Russia in recent years"? Russian history is chock full of accounts of Russian authorities putting the boot firmly down upon the necks of citizens, regardless of contributions, ethnicity, education, and current or prior service to the people and state. From the czarist times, through the era of Communism, too today, this is how this dysfunctional country conducts itself. They have yet to sever investigative powers, and the judiciary from the corrosive influence of 'one man, strong man rule'. I'm not a fan of this country, but look upon the natural gifts and people - as a vast opportunity lost.
2
@Imperato unfortunately there's a shrinking number of places for them to go. Australia maybe? Or New Zealand? Canada? The world is in a sad state. I don't think we'll make it to the end of this century.