‘Highly Irregular and Political’ – Top Ukraine Researcher Blasts Journals For Suppressing His Papers

While some elect to "blatantly and uncritically parrot Western narratives" according to the academic, "many scholars are afraid to conduct evidence-based research that runs contrary to established Western narratives on Maidan, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and other issues related to the conflicts in Ukraine Kiev following the 2014 coup."

A leading Ukraine researcher is speaking out after his academic papers were suppressed by multiple journals, a new report has detailed.

In January, Ukrainian-Canadian political scientist Ivan Katchanovski revealed his latest academic paper, which documented how the massacre of over 70 protesters which was used to consummate Ukraine’s 2014 ‘Maidan’ coup, was initially "accepted after minor revisions by [a] journal editor but then rejected."

And that same month, another academic publication rejected a paper authored by Katchanovski also for "political reasons," according to comments he gave to the independent American outlet The Grayzone.

As detailed by journalist Kit Klarenberg, "Katchanovski declined to name the journal in question, but described it as "top-tier" in the field of social sciences" and "believes its refusal to publish his study is "extraordinary," but nonetheless emblematic of a "far bigger problem in academic publishing and academia.""

"The editor who accepted my article only learned it would not be published from my tweets on the subject," Katchanovski explained, adding "this reversal was highly irregular and political."

"There is growing political censorship concerning Ukraine in academia, and also self-censorship," Katchanovski reportedly told The Grayzone.

"Many scholars are afraid to conduct evidence-based research that runs contrary to established Western narratives on Maidan, the Russia-Ukraine war, and other issues related to the conflicts in Ukraine Kiev following the 2014 coup," the academic said.

Meanwhile, those who are happy to "blatantly and uncritically parrot Western narratives," are rewarded, according to Katchanovski, who’s considered one of the world’s leading scholars on post-Maidan Ukraine.

Reached for comment, Klarenberg told Sputnik News that "while it's absolutely outrageous that a mainstream academic journal would suppress a successfully peer-reviewed study – particularly given it concerns the perpetrators of an egregious crime which remains officially unsolved – it's not remotely surprising."

As Klarenberg points out, that’s because since Russia began its special military operation on February 24, 2022, "serious discussion of the factors that led us to this point has not been permitted," nor has "accurate reporting of the reality on the ground."

He says the latest act of censorship is in keeping with a slow decline in journalistic freedoms that’s plagued corporate media outlets for years.

"Press freedom in the West has been under attack for over a decade," Klarenberg said, noting that "the spectrum of permissible opinions has narrowed, and the mechanisms for maligning dissenting viewpoints and inconvenient truths have multiplied."

"Recently, this tendency has infected academia," Klarenberg explained.

"It seems academic journals, much like news outlets, are aware there are certain truths that cannot be published and must be actively suppressed."