Ene German research institute after the other took a stand against Russian politics in the past week and announced the corresponding consequences. The basis was laid quickly: On Friday after the Russian invasion, the “Allianz”, the largest association of German science and research organizations, published a recommendation according to which “scientific cooperation with state institutions and commercial enterprises in Russia should be frozen with immediate effect until further notice that German research funds will no longer benefit Russia and that no joint scientific and research-political events should take place”.
On the same day, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) stated in a statement that Russia had “bid itself farewell to the international community” through its behavior. The previous cooperation in science and research as well as in vocational training will be stopped, the planning of new measures will be suspended “until further notice”. The science academies also opposed the attack on Ukraine and viewed Russia’s actions as an “attack on the fundamental foundations of academic freedom and international cooperation”.
In some places, Russia is the most important partner
This termination of research collaboration is a drastic step. Germany and Russia have previously cooperated in many important areas of science: it was not until 2018 that a ten-year German-Russian roadmap for cooperation in education, science, research and innovation was signed, which builds on similar agreements from 2009 and 1987. So far, Russia has been an important partner, especially in space travel, physics and polar research. The Helmholtz Association, which has had its own office in Moscow since 2005, maintains particularly strong ties to Russia.
The accelerator center FAIR is currently being built at the GSI, the Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt. Russia, says GSI press spokesman Ingo Peter, is the largest partner country. Sanctions would have a strong impact on one’s own activities, but management believes they are “necessary”. Coordination is currently taking place with the other partner countries of the FAIR project about their concrete implementation. The German Electron Synchrotron (DESY), which is also supported by the Helmholtz Association, is located in Hamburg and Zeuthen and currently has 100 Russian and 20 Ukrainian employees. One stands with full solidarity behind the instructions of the BMBF, it is said on request. “Well over 25 cooperation projects and cooperation relationships with a large number of Russian institutes and Russian universities” would be suspended, including the EU project CREMLINplus, which will run until 2024.
The FAIR and DESY cases reflect the reaction of German research institutions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine: the regret, but also the emphasis on a necessary reaction. The Max Planck Society is putting all cooperation with Russian state institutions on hold. Within the framework of corresponding cooperation projects, “scientists will no longer meet and no more scientific data will be collected,” says press spokeswoman Christina Beck. Corresponding modules have been switched off for this purpose.”