War on Ukraine and cooperation with partners in Russia

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a war of aggression that we condemn in the strongest possible terms. We are very worried about the people in Ukraine. Ukraine is part of a Europe committed to democratic values. Its research is firmly embedded in the European research landscape. With our research and expertise on Ukraine and the entire region of Eastern Europe, we at ZOiS will continue to contribute to the fact-based assessment of the situation. We also strive to maintain our contacts with academics, journalists and artists who are in need, have to flee, or come under political pressure, no matter where they are located. We will support them with our own measures and by participating in the support programmes of other research organisations.

Against this background, we have decided to suspend all institutional cooperations between ZOiS and Russian state institutions. However, in the spirit of academic freedom, the academic partnerships our researchers have established with individual researchers in Russia will continue, as far as this is possible. Such partnerships are based on personal relationships and help to create common values. At the same time, they represent an important link to Russian civil society and a chance to keep critical voices in Russian academia, who are themselves affected by repression, from falling silent.