Scientists from Europe and China stopped coming to Russia due to the pandemic and the war

The pandemic has reduced the international contacts of Russian scientists, but the war in Ukraine will further aggravate the situation. These are the highlights of the HSE University report on scientific mobility.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Russian scientists reduced their international contacts, Tayga.Info reports. In 2019, employees of 151 scientific organizations went abroad to work or study. In 2020, this number fell to 93; in 2021, it was 106. Germany, France, Vietnam, the United States, and Switzerland were the leading host countries. In 2019, before the pandemic, China was among them.

In 2021, Russian universities welcomed 2,118 foreign scientists, 23.4 per cent less than in 2019. Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, and Tajikistan provided more than a third of the influx of researchers to Russia. Another 21.5 per cent came from China, Germany, India, Egypt, the USA, and Vietnam.

In 2022, the situation has changed, the authors of the report note. Because of the war in Ukraine, Russia has to focus on attracting researchers from South Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

Following China's example, Russia may also launch a program to return scientists home, providing them with good working conditions, HSE University researchers suggest.

Elia Kabanov is a science writer covering the past, present, and future of technology (@metkere)