The Ministry of Justice has begun training experts in political science research

The Russian Federal Center for Forensic Expertise (RFCFE) under the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation has begun training experts in “political science research of information materials.” Their skills are planned to be used in processes related to the dissemination of extremist materials, calls for mass unrest, and also where NGOs performing the functions of a foreign agent appear. Political scientists hope that the initiative of the Ministry of Justice will help in the future to prevent the use of unscientific research, as was the case with “destructological” examination in the high-profile case of playwright Svetlana Petriychuk and director Evgenia Berkovich.

The fact that the Ministry of Justice has begun training experts in political science research of information materials was announced during the scientific and practical conference “Theory and practice of fundamental and applied research in the field of forensic activity and DNA registration of the population of the Russian Federation” held in Novosibirsk by the Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Center Forensic experts Georgy Omelyanuk. Such an examination, he noted, will be carried out in court proceedings involving NGOs performing the functions of a foreign agent, in trials of the dissemination of extremist and terrorist materials, as well as in cases related to violations of the electoral process. In particular, Mr. Omelyanyuk emphasized, such specialists will be able to record the fact that the person involved is carrying out political activities: “Often, an organization declares that it does not engage in such activities, but in fact actually carries them out.”

According to the Federal Law “On State Forensic Expert Activities in the Russian Federation,” a forensic examination can be appointed on the basis of a court ruling, a judge’s decision, as well as the person conducting the inquiry and the investigator. Such research in criminal cases can be carried out both by government experts and representatives of specialized NGOs.

Mr. Omelyanyuk believes that the examination, included in April of this year in the list of state forensic examinations, which are carried out exclusively in the institutions of the Ministry of Justice, will become “an effective means of countering the conduct of information warfare.” “It will be useful in determining the degree of participation of an NPO or legal entity in the formation of negative public opinion about government policy measures, the activities of government agencies and government officials,” the official specified. “Also in the formation of legal nihilism, manipulation of public consciousness and the formation of an aggressive political culture.”

Until 2023, forensic political science examinations were in most cases carried out by employees of educational institutions and private forensic organizations, the RFCSE emphasizes, while the procedure for confirming the competencies of the specialists performing them was not regulated. In addition, in cases related to extremism and terrorism, the professional knowledge of expert linguists and psychologists is sometimes insufficient.

We recall that a recent conflict with expert assessment in the case of director Evgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, accused of justifying terrorism, caused a wide public outcry. The criminal case against them was based on a “destructive forensic examination” of the play “Finist Yasnyi Sokol”. Experts, director of the Center for Linguistic Expertise of MSLU Galina Khizreeva and head of the Laboratory of Destructology of MSLU Roman Silantiev found in the production the glorification of ISIS (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia), the ideology of radical feminism and “the fight against the androcentric social structure of Russia.” The RFCSSE studied the “destructological examination” and recognized it as unscientific.

Lawyer Sergei Badamshin, who is the defender of Svetlana Petriychuk, told Kommersant that the examinations that he encountered in professional practice sometimes do not meet “neither the criteria of modern political science nor the legislation on state expert activity, as was the case in the case of the Otkrytaya Russia” Anastasia Shevchenko (convicted under the article on carrying out the activities of a foreign or international non-governmental organization, in respect of which a decision was made to recognize it as undesirable on the territory of Russia.— “Kommersant”)”. “It is impossible to say whether the RFCSE examination will meet such criteria. All that remains is to wait for the finished product,” he concluded.

“Often, the low professionalism of such examinations is noted by both sides of the process,” supported political scientist Vladimir Shemyakin. “The Ministry of Justice, as part of the forensic reform, plans to introduce licensing of non-state expert organizations and an exam for non-state experts. The beginning of the training of political science experts under the additional education program is one of the steps in this direction. Let’s hope that as a result, the professionalism and objectivity of political science expertise will increase.”

There is a demand for a new examination in Russia, since both the media and the Internet publish messages that are “accessible to a wide range of readers, some of which require a professional assessment,” said political scientist Alexander Asafov. “You can tendentiously evaluate any statement, giving it the features of an extremist, criminally punishable statement, as was the case with an examination based on the same destructology, which is not based on methods supported by fundamental knowledge,” he believes. Mr. Asafov is confident that in this area it is necessary to come to obvious, understandable and specialized criteria. “There is also a demand in the field of recognition by foreign agents, since the history with them is also not transparent enough,” continues the political scientist. “I am sure that in this area there will also be a space for description, study and training, from which we will receive a qualified assessment.”

Emilia Gabdullina; Valery Lavsky, Novosibirsk