Letter: Let's not abandon Russian scientists

In this Letter, five Western scientists led by John Holdren express that while they welcome the outpouring of support across the West for Ukrainian scientists, they urge America’s policymakers and science and technology communities to avoid shunning all Russian scientists for the actions of the Russian government. “Shutting down all interaction with Russian scientists would be a serious setback to a variety of Western and global interests and values, which include making rapid progress on global challenges related to science and technology, maintaining nonideological lines of communication across national boundaries, and opposing ideological stereotyping and indiscriminate persecution,” they write. The Letter authors advocate for a balanced appraisal of Russian scientists and Russian academic institutions that weighs the likely effectiveness of any measures under consideration in punishing or deterring the Russian state against the undesired adverse impacts on Western and global interests and values.