The DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) policy and Trump’s actions to eliminate such initiatives are sparking heated debates among scholars. Some see DEI principles as the politicization of science, a form of censorship, and a violation of meritocracy. Others strongly disagree. T-invariant spoke with sociologist and historian Dmitry Dubrovsky about how DEI mechanisms worked in the United States, why they face so much criticism from the academic community, and what Trump’s policy on inclusion and diversity will lead to.

For the first time in Russian history, a court is about to issue a sentence typically given to real terrorists and serial killers, solely for allegedly intending to commit a crime. State prosecutor Madina Dolgieva has requested 34-year-old physicist Artem Khoroshilov be sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of treason, DDoS attack, and preparation of sabotage. To date, this is the record term requested for a member of the scientific community. “The system is turning feral — especially in cases related to the ‘SVO’. And the claim that the defendant’s high intellect is an aggravating circumstance has left us all reeling,” say scientists interviewed by T-invariant. (‘SVO’ is the official euphemism for the invasion of Ukraine. — T-invariant)

T-invariant and the CISRUS center are releasing another press release “Chronicles of the Persecution of Scientists” No. 25 dated September 30, 2025. The first issue of “Chronicles of the Persecution of Scientists” was published exactly two years ago on September 30, 2023. Today we will summarize some results of the work of the repressive machine of the Russian authorities.

Over the past three and a half years of active sanctions policy, only four rectors of Russian universities have been added to Western “blacklists.” The most prominent among them is Nikita Anisimov, only the second rector in the history of the Higher School of Economics (HSE). T-invariant reports on how, under his leadership, HSE has once again outpaced all other universities, but this time — in militarization, promotion of the pro-war ‘Z’ ideology, participation in the Kremlin’s propaganda machine, and direct involvement — by Anisimov himself, his team, and even students — on the front lines and in occupied territories.

Recently, Russian scientists, whose scientific portfolios include hundreds of significant achievements, have unexpectedly begun utilizing co-authors from the Middle East and Southeast Asia with questionable reputations. Is this phenomenon related to the reorientation of Russian science “to the east”? This is discussed in the new issue of “Plagiarism Navigator.

The Gatchina District Court has resumed hearings in the case of Dmitry Bogmut, a technician at the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute named after B.P. Konstantinov (part of the Kurchatov Institute). After the onset of the war in Ukraine, Bogmut posted anti-war videos in a private thread on a forum with only a dozen users. He has been held in a pre-trial detention center for a year and a half and faces up to ten years in prison. Court hearings are regularly attended by a crowd of men in camouflage, seemingly organized as “extras”, identified as “Donbas volunteers.” Meanwhile, the names of activists supporting Bogmut have been publicly disclosed by state news agencies, leading to threats against them.

Laboratory-grown skin grafts are already part of the medical toolkit. However, a project from Tel Aviv University, supported by Zimin Institutes, promises a breakthrough in near-authentic skin transplant: dense, elastic, and multi-layered. In experimental mice, hair even grows at the burn site. T-Invariant explores how this technology was developed and how close it is to clinical application.

T-invariant and the CISRUS center are releasing another press release “Chronicles of the Persecution of Scientists” No. 24 dated August 31, 2025. On September 1, amendments to the “foreign agents” law come into force. These amendments directly affect many scientists who are in our database: their books have disappeared from Russian bookstores, and their lectures and podcasts are disappearing from portals.