Russia charges philosopher with stealing Aristotle translation funds in case colleagues say is politically motivated

A senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Philosophy has been charged with large-scale fraud in connection with the alleged theft of funds earmarked for a project to translate Aristotle’s works.

The researcher, Svetlana Mesyats, 54, holds a doctorate and specializes in ancient philosophy and the history of Aristotelianism. Investigators say she submitted false reports about work done under the project, according to the Russian business daily Kommersant.

The project required institute staff to produce a complete scholarly edition of Aristotle’s works in Russian, including translations of previously unpublished treatises and a study of the ancient Aristotelian tradition. Participants submitted progress reports and continued receiving funding even though, according to investigators, the research and translations were never finished — some of the claimed results either did not exist or existed only in draft form.

Investigators say 16 million rubles in state funds were stolen through the project, known as “The Legacy of Aristotle.”

Mesyats was placed under house arrest on May 21, the day after searches at the Institute of Philosophy and the homes of its staff members. She denies the charge and faces up to 10 years in prison.

Many in the academic community see the case against Mesyats — like the searches at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Philosophy — as politically motivated. Among them is Yulia Sineokaya, the former deputy director of the institute and now president of the Paris-based Independent Institute of Philosophy. In her view, the allegations surrounding the Aristotle translation project are merely a pretext for pressuring the institute.

A public conflict broke out at the Institute of Philosophy in 2021. Anatoly Chernyaev, a specialist in the history of Russian philosophy, was appointed to lead the institute, but staff demanded a review of the “strange appointment.”

Abdusalam Guseinov ultimately became the institute’s acting head. Chernyaev was dismissed from the institute in 2023. He and his supporters later accused the institute of disloyalty to the Russian authorities. Sineokaya and others have linked Chernyaev to a renewed campaign of pressure on the institute, including the case against Mesyats.