Russia's only private funding organization to shut down after being labeled a "foreign agent"

The Dynasty Foundation, which has been providing over $10 million of research funding for Russian scientists for 13 years, has decided to shut down after the Russian government labeled it a “foreign agent.” The primary reason behind this is that its founder, Dmitry Zimin, routes $10 million annually from his offshore accounts in the West. The court also fined Dynasty $5000 for refusing to register as a foreign agent. Although the foundation has decided to fulfill its obligations to current grantees before the formal liquidation comes into effect, this development may have a huge impact on the future of scientific research in Russia as well as on the morale of the Russian scientific community.

Discussing this development in detail, ScienceInsider reports that according to the Russian government's newly passed foreign agents law, “Organizations named undesirable by the prosecutor general must cease activities in Russia. They will also have their bank accounts blocked. Groups or individuals that cooperate with such an organization, even outside Russia, will also be prosecuted: A first violation results in a fine, whereas second offenses could land perpetrators in prison for up to 6 years.” 

Zimin’s reaction to the government’s decision to consider his organization as a potential threat was one of disappointment. He decided to withdraw his annual contribution towards research funding in Russia, following which Dynasty's council announced their decision to shut down the foundation. This decision could land a huge blow on scientific research in Russia. According to one report, last year, Dynasty “spent about $10 million on 20 projects supporting young researchers (mainly mathematicians and physicists), competitions for school science teachers, science festivals, and public lectures by world-class researchers.”

The incident has deeply affected the Russian scientific community. According to Evgeny Onishchenko, from the RAS’ Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow, Zimin was “unselfishly helping to develop and popularize science in Russia, but the authorities have found a loophole—that he was transferring his own money from accounts in foreign banks—and have publicly made a spy of him.” In a letter addressed to Nature, Fyodor Kondrashov, from the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, Spain, who also organizes Dynasty-funded summer schools, and two of his colleagues, jointly state that “Like many other Russian scientists, we believe that these events will have dire immediate and long-term consequences for Russia's science.”

Incidentally, Dynasty is not the only institution that has been targetted. The Russian Federal Council has published a list of 12 suspected organizations. One of these is George Soros' fundation. A staunch supporter of scientific research, Soros' International Science Foundation has spent over $100 million to provide research grants and support other academic activities in Russia.