Evading Transparency, Doubting Democracy, Dreaming Big: Grassroots Perspectives on Science Governance in Russia

ABSTRACT Global transformation of academia under “new public management” and metrics-based assessment has brought forth intense debates on the governance of science. This study investigates key values and visions of academic governance in Russia through a set of focus groups with scientists plus a nationwide survey (n = 6,166) conducted in 2019. Russian scholars defy both state pressures and grassroots self-governance (due to fundamental distrust of peers); the preservation of privacy is their key concern. Finally, we present basic self-images of science (competitive, cooperative, and mobilizational) and point out the tensions between liberalism and democracy in post-Soviet academia.