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One-Fifth of Russian Scientists Surveyed Would Consider Working in Rogue States By Mike Nartker WASHINGTON — A “small, but significant” number of Russian scientists have expressed a willingness to consider working in rogue states, a researcher at the U.S. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said here yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 17). A 2002 study of 600 scientists found that 21 percent would consider working for at least a year in Iran, Iraq, North Korea or Syria, said Deborah Yarsike Ball of the laboratory’s Proliferation and Terrorism Prevention Program. The most popular potential destination was North Korea, Ball said, describing the finding as “positively perplexing.” “You’re not going to North Korea for the job benefits,” she said during a presentation sponsored by Kennan Institute. Ball refused to speculate on why North Korea would be the most popular destination for those Russian scientists willing to consider “going rogue.” The study, which involved scientists with backgrounds in physics, chemistry and biology, was conducted by a Russian survey firm at 20 research institutes. She said, though, that the then-Atomic Energy Ministry rebuffed several attempts to gain access to its laboratories, resulting in many weapons sites being off-limits. About 16 percent of the survey’s participants, she said, indicated they had conducted weapons-related research in the preceding 10 years. In the wake of the economic troubles caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, there has been concern that former Soviet WMD scientists may sell their expertise to rogue states or terrorist groups seeking to develop unconventional weapons. To address such concerns, the United States and other Western countries have established programs intended to help redirect such scientists to civilian research projects. The study found that Western grants have contributed to a reduced willingness by most Russian scientists to consider working in rogue states, Ball said, adding that Russian grants had little effect. Older scientists and those living closer to Moscow were also less likely to work abroad, she said. The study found, Ball said, that most Russian scientists have a strong moral sense of responsibility about how their work is used, a strong sense of duty to place Russian national interests above their own and that they favor tighter controls on working abroad. She warned, though, that younger Russian scientists feel less strongly about those issues than those brought up during the Soviet era.
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