When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Springer Nature joined many Western institutions in condemning the war. The academic publishing giant announced it would halt new sales in Russia and Belarus and expressed support for Ukrainian researchers.
Yet more than four years later, Springer continues to distribute roughly 200 Russian scientific journals through a partnership with Pleiades Publishing, a company that specializes in translating and distributing Russian academic publications to international audiences.
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Springer Nature is one of the world’s most influential academic publishers, producing thousands of journals and books annually, including the flagship scientific journal Nature.
That relationship has come under growing scrutiny. A recent report by Ukrainian scholars Oleksii Plastun and Valeriia Kotelnykova argues that some journals distributed through the partnership are linked to sanctioned Russian institutions, repeat Kremlin narratives, and identify occupied Ukrainian territories as part of Russia.
Among the examples cited is an article published in the Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences that, according to the report’s authors, repeated familiar Kremlin narratives about Ukraine, including claims about Ukrainian nationalism, discrimination against Russian speakers, and Western influence.
Springer disputes the implication that the arrangement conflicts with sanctions.
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“We take sanctions compliance extremely seriously and will not supply services to an organization or do business with people who are on a sanctions list,” Steven Inchcoombe, President of Research at Springer Nature, responded in a written email.
“At the same time, we believe that researchers around the world should have access to global ideas. To this end, we follow the independent COPE guidelines so that authors in sanctioned territories, unless prohibited, are able to offer their work to the wider community.”
Critics argue that some journals distributed through the Springer-Pleiades partnership are linked to organizations that have been sanctioned by Western governments or are affiliated with Russian state institutions.
The continuation of that access appears to have been a deliberate objective of Pleiades. In an interview published on the Russian Academy of Sciences website shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Pleiades chief Aleksandr Shustorovich said the company’s scientific publications had been preserved with the understanding that they represented “precisely the Russian scientific environment.” He added that Russian researchers retained “the same access to Western readers as before” and credited Springer Nature and other major publishers for supporting that approach.
Douglas Davis, a neuroradiologist and global health researcher who has worked extensively on Ukraine-related initiatives, said commercial incentives may help explain why academic partnerships often persist despite geopolitical tensions.
“People are surprised when major publishers continue to work with controversial actors or publish material from authoritarian states,” Davis said. “But from my perspective, these organizations are driven primarily by commercial incentives. Their loyalty is to revenue, not necessarily to any particular set of political or ethical principles.”
Plastun argues the issue is not simply about academic publishing.
“Academic publishing is arguably more dangerous because it carries the seal of objectivity,” he said. “By maintaining these journals, the Kremlin successfully infiltrates global databases like Scopus and Web of Science, ensuring that Russian state-funded narratives are archived as scientific fact rather than state media broadcasts.”
Influence campaigns often rely less on overt propaganda than on “credibility transfer.”
The report identified nearly 400 cases between 2022 and 2025 in which occupied Ukrainian territories, including Sevastopol, Simferopol and Donetsk, were listed as part of Russia.
“By allowing Russian journals to claim Ukrainian universities and scientists in occupied territories as their own, Springer Nature aids in the erasure of Ukrainian academic identity and sovereignty on the global stage,” Plastun said.
His research found that references to Sevastopol as a Russian city rose from 0% of publications in 2013 to 100% by 2025.
Springer has defended its handling of territorial disputes by stating on its website that it remains neutral regarding jurisdictional claims reflected in published affiliations and maps.
Igor L. Markov, vice chair of the board of directors of the American Coalition for Ukraine and an author whose books have previously been published by Springer, said repeated references to occupied Ukrainian cities as Russian can gradually shape international perceptions.
“Labeling occupied cities like Sevastopol or Simferopol as Russian in academic journals normalizes territorial claims that have no legal basis,” Markov said. “When people see this over and over, it shifts baseline assumptions about what is contested and what is settled.”
Political scientist Branislav Slantchev argues that influence campaigns often rely less on overt propaganda than on “credibility transfer” – the process by which narratives gain legitimacy when they are transmitted through trusted institutions rather than state media. Critics argue that academic journals can be particularly influential because they are cited by researchers, indexed by search engines and increasingly used as reference material by AI systems.
Ilona Sologub, editor of VoxUkraine, said many Russian scientific institutions remain integrated into the global research ecosystem despite the war. “Russian scientists still have publications in Western research journals as a key performance metric used to evaluate researchers and institutions,” she said.
Asked whether the publisher was reviewing the partnership, Inchcoombe said Springer regularly evaluates its journal portfolio.
“As is customary in our business, we regularly review our journal portfolio – both those that we own and those we distribute on behalf of third parties,” he said. “In accordance with the NISO Transfer Code of Practice, any changes for 2027 will be communicated later this year.”
The NISO Transfer Code of Practice is an industry framework developed by publishers and librarians to guide journal ownership and distribution transfers.
That timeline is significant. According to Springer Nature’s 2024 IPO prospectus, the company’s current distribution agreement with Pleiades runs through December 2026. Whether Springer renews the agreement after 2026 may ultimately determine whether critics view the partnership as a temporary legacy arrangement or a deliberate choice.
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