Commission for Counteracting the Falsification of Scientific Research

The Commission for Counteracting the Falsification of Scientific Research (Russian: Комиссия по противодействию фальсификации научных исследований) is an advisory and expert body of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN). It was established to help the Academy address issues related to research integrity and the credibility of scientific work. The Commission operates under the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which approves its charter, composition, and structure. In 2018, the Presidium decided to separate it from the Commission for Combating Pseudoscience and Falsification of Scientific Research, creating a dedicated body focused specifically on falsification. The Commission brings together prominent Russian scientists, including academicians and corresponding members of RAN, as well as experts from various fields such as medicine, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and the humanities. Its members have included Viktor Vasiliev (chairman), Vasily Vlasov (deputy chairman), and many others. The Commission's work involves analyzing questionable research practices, reviewing allegations of data fabrication or plagiarism, and providing expert opinions on cases of potential misconduct. One notable case involved the dissertation of Konstantin Prokofiev, acting rector of Kurgan State University, where the Commission provided an opinion, though the dissertation council at RUDN University did not find the evidence sufficient to revoke the degree. In December 2022, by a decision of the RAN Presidium, the functions of both this Commission and the Commission for Combating Pseudoscience were transferred to an Expert Council. This was widely interpreted as a dissolution of the commissions. However, Stepan Kalmykov, head of the Expert Council and vice-president of RAN, later clarified that the commissions were not abolished but rather subordinated to the Expert Council instead of the Presidium. The Commission has also faced criticism, notably from RAN President Alexander Sergeev, who in 2019 accused it of procedural violations regarding a report on ethical violations among candidates for Academy membership. In 2020, Sergeev stated that the Presidium had acknowledged certain violations in the Commission's work and decided to update its composition and activities. The Commission maintains an official website at kpfran.ru.

The Commission for Counteracting the Falsification of Scientific Research was created in 2018 when the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences decided to separate it from the Commission for Combating Pseudoscience and Falsification of Scientific Research. The new body was designed to focus specifically on issues of falsification in scientific research, while the older commission continued to address pseudoscience. The Presidium approves the Commission's charter, composition, and structure. The Commission is composed of leading Russian scientists, including academicians and corresponding members of RAN, as well as experts from various fields. As of 2020, the chairman was Viktor Vasiliev, an academician of RAN, with Vasily Vlasov, a doctor of medical sciences from HSE University, serving as deputy chairman. Other members included Vladimir Anisimov, Leonid Aranovich, Sergei Afontsev, Savely Bashchinsky, Alexander Belavin, Alexei Bobrovsky, Elizaveta Bonch-Osmolovskaya, Pyotr Gaidukov, Mikhail Gelfand, Viktor Glukhov, Nikolai Goncharov, Nikolai Grintser, Valentin Danilov, Boris Zhuikov, Andrei Zayakin, Askold Ivanchik, Anna Kuleshova, Galina Melnichenko, Andrei Rostovtsev, Alexei Sirenov, Valery Soifer, Pyotr Talantov, Fyodor Uspensky, Alexei Ustinov, Dmitry Ushakov, Alexei Khokhlov, Felix Chernousko, and Revolt Entov. In its activities, the Commission has examined cases of alleged research misconduct. In 2019, experts from Dissernet drew attention to unreliable data in the dissertation of Konstantin Prokofiev, acting rector of Kurgan State University, where 159 out of 184 pages were copied from two other dissertations from 2011. Prokofiev cited his own methodological textbook supposedly published in 2010, which contained information about events that occurred later, such as 53 political parties, whereas in 2010 there were only eight. The Commission on Falsification of Scientific Works provided an opinion, but the dissertation council at RUDN University did not find the evidence convincing enough to strip Prokofiev of his degree. The Commission has also faced criticism. In October 2019, RAN President Alexander Sergeev, in an interview with TASS, accused the Commission of non-compliance with regulations when it published a report on violations of scientific ethics among candidates for Academy membership without coordination with RAN branches. In an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta in January 2020, Sergeev stated: "The Academy Presidium recognized that there were certain violations in the work of the Commission, and decided to make changes to its activities, as well as update its composition. We intend to propose to the Ministry of Education and Science to develop an alternative to the Dissernet community, whose results were used by the Commission, including for analyzing the publication and dissertation activity of candidates for RAN membership." On December 13, 2022, by a decision of the RAN Presidium, the functions of both commissions were transferred to an Expert Council. Many perceived this as the liquidation of the commissions. Later, the head of the Expert Council and vice-president of RAN, Academician Stepan Kalmykov, clarified that it was not about abolishing the commissions, but about subordinating them to the Expert Council instead of the Presidium.

• 2022

  By a decision of the RAN Presidium on December 13, the functions of both commissions are transferred to an Expert Council, later clarified as subordination rather than abolition.

• 2020

  Sergeev states that the Presidium acknowledged violations and decided to update the Commission's composition and activities.

• 2019

  The Commission provides an opinion on the dissertation of Konstantin Prokofiev, acting rector of Kurgan State University, which was later rejected by the dissertation council at RUDN University.

• 2019

  RAN President Alexander Sergeev accuses the Commission of procedural violations regarding a report on ethical violations among candidates for Academy membership.

• 2018

  The Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences decides to separate the Commission from the Commission for Combating Pseudoscience and Falsification of Scientific Research.

Advisory and expert body of the Russian Academy of Sciences focused on research integrity.

1. 1Wikidata entrywikidata.org
2. 2Комиссия по противодействию фальсификации научных исследованийru.wikipedia.org