Exodus of scientists from Russia has passed 50,000 since 2018 as more pack their bags to go

Over the past five years, Russia has lost around 50,000 scientists, a senior member of the Russian Academy of Sciences has revealed.

The figures come shortly after news that at least three Russian scientists who have worked on hypersonic missile development had been arrested on suspicion of ‘high treason’ over the past year. Reports suggest that at least one of the scientists was arrested because they had allegedly passed data containing state secrets to China.

However, a letter published by staff at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics says that ‘open sources’ have revealed that the acts for which the scientists were arrested were an ‘obligatory component of conscientious and high-quality scientific activity’ – making presentations at international seminars, publishing articles in high-ranking journals and participating in international scientific projects.