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Researchers in Russia may face a blackout on the internet and may only surf on national websites (ref). Then they could not submit any paper to non-Russian journals anymore.

I was wondering whether some journals have thought about this and organized something to help them. In particular, would it be possible for them to submit a manuscript via post mail?

For the papers submitted before a potential black-out, do the journals plan to correspond with authors by post mail?

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    A few journals I glanced at still list a physical address for the editorial office, so it seems likely they could override their current on-line submission. If emails are not being rejected back to them, they may not (yet) recognize the issues with contacting authors. Again, calling or mailing to the editors would be suggested.
    – Jon Custer
    Commented Apr 26, 2022 at 15:27
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    I do not see anything in this article suggesting Russians cannot continue to submit manuscripts by email.
    – ZeroTheHero
    Commented Apr 26, 2022 at 15:57
  • If you have a phone and a modem, you can access the internet.
    – Acccumulation
    Commented Apr 28, 2022 at 2:31
  • Thanks all for your comments. I've modified the initial question to make it as a POTENTIAL blackout as there no proof that it has been the case so far since the beginning of the war, as many of you have written.
    – Noil
    Commented Apr 29, 2022 at 15:05

2 Answers 2

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The NY Times paper is behind paywall so I could not read it. However, I maintain contact with friends and relatives in Russia and as of 26 Apr 2022 there are no issues with email, general web browsing or videoconferencing.

Researchers in Russia face a blackout on the internet

There is no ongoing internet blackout, although the Russian government attempted several partial or complete blackouts in the last years during important events, such as elections. At the moment the Russian government is mostly concerned about blocking political speech and news on the Russian invasion into Ukraine. Many international news-making websites are blocked, and some social networks are blocked too — e.g. Twitter was blocked in Russia for a few past days, but today it seems to be working again, though no official announcement was made as to why.

Then they cannot submit any paper to non-Russian journals anymore.

Academic journals and their web submission portals are not blocked in Russia. Whoever told you that Russian researchers are blocked from submitting to non-Russian journals is not telling the truth. Having said that, Russian academics may face the following difficulties:

  1. Some Russian banks are blocked from using the SWIFT bank transfer system due to sanctions. International bank cards such as Visa or MasterCard are also restricted. If a Russian academic wants or needs to pay article processing or publication fees for their paper to be published, it may prove to be difficult.
  2. The Russian government is notoriously unpredictable at the moment and the laws/regulations change almost on a daily basis. In the last years a few Russian academics were imprisoned on a charge of "sharing state secrets" for sharing previously published information (academic papers and preprints) with their colleagues abroad. This "witch-hunt" is likely to continue, as the Russian government moves further towards punitive reaction and self-isolation.
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    Point number 1 is a big one. Russian institutions are not known for their bureaucratic flexibility, and if their standard operating procedures for making this type of international payment are not working due to the sanctions, they may be entirely unable (through either legal constraints or bureaucratic immovability) to perform the payment.
    – E.P.
    Commented Apr 28, 2022 at 16:12
  • Thanks for your great response @dmitry-savostyanov. Note that I've modified the initial question to make it now as a POTENTIAL blackout as there no proof that it has been the case so far since the beginning of the war. So your response may need some updates to fit with the edited question now.
    – Noil
    Commented Apr 29, 2022 at 15:08
  • @Noil Thank you, but I think I'd pass on updating my answer. If your revised question is sufficiently different, you probably should write it as a new question. If it remains mostly the same, my answer mostly stands. I am happy to put in an effort to write a clear and accurate answer that hopefully helps you and others. But please do not expect me to "maintain" my answer and ensure it fits your modified question after every update.
    – Dmitry Savostyanov
    Commented Apr 29, 2022 at 17:23
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Disregarding the premise of the question, most journals in the disciplines I am familiar with do not consider any submissions that do not pass through their submission system. Accepting submissions through some other process will cost some money, so it's not likely to happen.

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    This may be true in “normal” circumstances but I’ll bet they’d be willing to consider exceptions.
    – ZeroTheHero
    Commented Apr 28, 2022 at 0:01
  • There are many professors still alive in the west who grew up before the www and have a secretary print out their emails before reading. They still get their papers published. ;)
    – Karl
    Commented Apr 28, 2022 at 18:44
  • @Karl Most professors I know have a student submit papers for them. One has a secretary do it. Most of them do not have secretaries.
    – Anonymous Physicist
    Commented Apr 28, 2022 at 21:47

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