Dynasty Foundation

Dynasty Foundation was Russia's only private funder of scientific research.[3] It was created by VympelCom founder Dmitry Zimin in 2002.[4] After the Russian Ministry of Justice added Dynasty to its list of foreign agents in 2015 due to Zimin's own contributions coming from his foreign bank account, the Foundation decided to shut down.[3]

Dynasty Foundation
Фонд «Династия»
Formation2002
FounderDmitry Zimin
Dissolved2015[1]
TypeNon-Profit Foundation
PurposeDevelopment of fundamental scientific research and education in Russia; popularization of science and civic education
Budget (2015)
435 million rubles[2]
Websitewww.dynastyfdn.com/english

History

Dynasty Foundation was founded in 2002 by telecommunications businessman and philanthropist Dmitry Zimin. Dynasty has supported the research of young biologists, physicists, and mathematicians; science programs for high-school students in academic institutions; and training for science teachers, among other programs. Dynasty also funded the translation of popular science literature, founded a book award for these writers, and supported lectures and festivals that promoted scientific knowledge.[5]

In 2007, for the first time in Russian history, the foundation was turned over to a board of trustees appointed from members of the public.[2]

In 2013, Dmitry Zimin was awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, becoming the first Russian philanthropist to receive it.[2]

In 2015, Zimin was awarded a national prize "For Faithfulness to Science" in the category "For Patronage of Science" for significant contribution in popularizing science and supporting the scientific community.[2]

Dynasty Foundation was designated a "foreign agent" in 2015. The cause given was Dynasty's support for the organization Liberal Mission, which held lectures on modern politics in 2014, and founder Zimin's contributions to the fund coming from his foreign bank account.[6] Rather than carry the label, the board decided to liquidate the Foundation.[7]

The registration of Dynasty sparked protests from Russia's Presidential Human Rights Council,[8] which called upon the Plenum of the Supreme Court to examine the practice of the courts in the application of the law.[9]

References
  1. Harding, Luke (8 July 2015). "Russian science foundation shuts down after being branded 'foreign agent'". the Guardian.
  2. "Dynasty: A Non-Profit Foundation". www.dynastyfdn.com. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  3. "Russia's only private science funder closes its doors". Science | AAAS. 2015-07-09. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  4. Harding, Luke; agencies (2015-07-08). "Russian science foundation shuts down after being branded 'foreign agent'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  5. "Russia Cracks Down on Charities". The New Yorker. 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  6. Roth, Andrew (2015-07-11). "Unlikely Targets in Cross Hairs as Russia Aims to Expose Foreign Influence". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  7. Van Noorden, Richard (2015). "Private Russian research foundation shuts down". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2015.17952.
  8. "Russia's Human Rights Council vows to turn to court over Dynasty Foundation". RAPSI. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  9. "Cовет просит Пленум Верховного суда изучить практику применения закона об "иностранных агентах" - СПЧ". president-sovet.ru. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
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