The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) condemns the unlawful invasion of Ukraine by the Russian state.  ALPSP stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.  We support Research4Life’s initiative working with publishers to provide Ukrainian institutions full access to their content free of charge for 2022 (https://www.research4life.org/).

ALPSP welcomes the voices of the Russian academic and scientific community who have spoken out against the actions of the Russian government.

ALPSP’s vision remains to foster a culture that will strengthen and advance academic and scholarly communications in all its forms; the dissemination of information is never more important than in times of conflict, as research is published by individuals rather than governments.

In light of the UK, US and EU sanctions, members will have varying degrees of concerns around their activities in Russia and Belarus . There may be questions around continuing to provide access to content or the commissioning of new Russian content, and restrictions around taking payments from authors in affected countries. We support the right of each member to decide as appropriate what is best for their business, in line with banking considerations and legal advice around sanctions.

ALPSP cannot provide direct legal advice, although will provide a watching brief and provide updates to members as appropriate.

 

Wayne Sime
Chief Executive
The Association of Learned & Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP)