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116 delegates from 37 countries around the world met at the beginning of December in Berlin for the 14^th Open Access Conference. Among them were representatives from the European Commission, European science foundations, and the European Universities Association. Russia was involved via three universities, Moscow State University, St Petersburg State University and Belgorod State University, and the National Electronic Information Consortium (NEIKON).

Our University has been promoting open access in Russia since 2006, when the Berlin Declaration on Open Access was signed. In Europe it is championed by the Max Planck Society, and run from its Digital Library. Along with NEIKON, we are now officially linked to the network, and will receive help to continue to spread the concept in Russia. Dr Vladimir Moskovskin, who is heavily involved in the publishing process at our University, has been enthusiastic about the project from the start. He explained,

“As a National Contact Point, our University will more actively advocate for connecting as many Russian universities and academic organisations to this initiative as possible, so as to achieve wide recognition of the principles behind open access, and its associated technology. Our shared aim is to abandon the subscription model and move to full open access for all scientific publications.”

He went on to suggest that the next move should be made at government level, with the creation of a Russian Coordinating Council on Open Access, the launch of a Russian open access initiative, and the development of a roadmap for achieving the goals of this initiative.