To the academic supervisor of the Institute of Philosophy in RAS,
academician A. A. Guseynov
To the Institute of Philosophy team in RAS
Dear Abdusalam Abdulkerimovich,
Dear colleagues!
We follow the situation, taking place in the Institute of Philosophy in RAS, with great concern. From your statement, we learned about an attempt to impose a new acting director, who lacks credibility among the staff, on the Institute. It is happening despite the fact that the staff unanimously voiced its support for their director, academician A. V. Smirnov, as well as contrary to all established procedures. Essentially, what this is all coming to is disorganising the work of the staff of a major Institute.
We deeply value academic autonomy and believe that the involvement in selecting the director is the inalienable right of the Institute’s staff. We support your demand to appoint the administration in line with the staff’s position and we are convinced that the climate of trust within the organisation is necessary for productive philosophical research. We hope that the normal functioning of the Institute will be restored, and the respected specialists gathered within the Institute’s walls will have the opportunity to continue their work that is so valuable for the philosophical community.
The staff of the ‘Political Philosophy’ programme
of the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences