Nepotism — the practice of favoring relatives in hiring — is one of the potential forms of conflict of interest, which can lead to corruption within universities. Despite the Russian government’s anti-corruption regulations, at Tomsk State University (TSU), Rector Eduard Galazhinsky has multiple family members employed at the institution. Moreover, several vice-rectors appear to be following their superior’s example.
Groza and Ulitsa Barkhatnaya examine which members of the university’s leadership have created conflicts of interest.
In 2014, Oleg Zmeev was appointed Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation at TSU. A graduate of Tomsk State University, Zmeev holds a Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics and is a professor.
His career at the university began in 2002, when he became an associate professor at the Department of Applied Informatics within the Faculty of Informatics. Three years later, he was promoted to head of the Department of Software Engineering within the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Cybernetics — a department he himself initiated. Today, this field of study at TSU is known as the Higher IT School. Finally, in 2014, he became Vice-Rector for Digital Informatization.
According to TSU’s online encyclopedia, Oleg Zmeev has two children — Diana and Denis.
Both followed in their father’s footsteps: they graduated from TSU and are now employed at the Higher IT School Research and Education Center — Denis as an associate professor and Diana as an assistant. The academic director of the center remains Oleg Zmeev.
Denis Zmeev, the eldest son of Oleg Zmeev, has also benefited from his father’s position. In 2015, shortly after Oleg Zmeev was appointed Vice-Rector for Digital Informatization, a new company was established within the university — LLC Creo-Soft. The company focuses on scientific research and development in the fields of natural and technical sciences.
From its inception, 27% of Creo-Soft belonged to Denis Zmeev, while TSU itself held a 40% stake in the company.
The position of CEO of Creo-Soft is occupied by another university employee — Danila Sokolov, head of TSU’s Digital Solutions Department. In his TenChat business profile, Sokolov states that all employees of Creo-Soft also work at TSU. He further writes that the company is actively involved in the Higher IT School at TSU.
“Some of us were there at the very beginning, literally building the faculty from scratch, while others joined later as professors and assistants,” Sokolov wrote in a social media post.
In 2016, the newspaper Tomskie Novosti reported that Creo-Soft programmers had upgraded the website of the Immortal Regiment, a nationwide patriotic movement.
Between 2016 and 2018, according to Russia’s state procurement website, Creo-Soft completed four government contracts with TSU, totaling 11.74 million rubles (approximately $130,000 USD). The contracts primarily involved the development of applications and websites.
Zmeev’s younger daughter, Diana, also works at TSU as a programmer in the Digital Solutions Development Department, while also serving as an assistant in the academic office of the Higher IT School.
In April 2022, Oleg Zmeev was still listed as a vice-rector on TSU’s official website. However, by October 2022, his name had disappeared from the university's leadership page. He now serves as the academic director of TSU’s Higher IT School.
Conflicts of interest have seemingly arisen not only around the former vice-rector but also around Eduard Galazhinsky, the rector of Tomsk State University (TSU). Many of Galazhinsky’s family members are currently employed at the university.
“The rector is very careful and meticulous when it comes to conflicts of interest. At least formally, he ensures that family connections are not too obvious,” says an insider familiar with the situation at TSU. However, despite this, his relatives still work at the university.
Galazhinsky became rector in 2013. He studied at TSU himself, graduating in 1990 with a degree in History.
Galazhinsky is married. According to TSU’s online encyclopedia, his wife is Oksana Nikolaevna Galazhinskaya (née Melnik). She also works at TSU as an associate professor in the Department of Mathematical Physics. According to her Facebook profile, she also studied at TSU.
“His wife and mother both worked at TSU. When the regulations on conflicts of interest were tightened, he promptly fired his mother,” the same insider says.
Eduard Galazhinsky’s mother, Olga Vasilyevna Galazhinskaya, is also a TSU graduate. According to the university's online encyclopedia, she graduated from the Department of History and Philology.
In 2015, TSU established the Excursion and Educational Center for Museums (EECM). Olga Galazhinskaya took on a leading role there and, by 2016, was serving as deputy director. She held this position until July 2017.
However, she continued to be listed as a “museum pedagogy specialist” on the EECM’s website. Interestingly, her name does not appear in TSU’s staff directory.
Besides his mother and wife, several other relatives of Galazhinsky also work at TSU.
His sister-in-law, Elena Nikolaevna Borovchenkova (née Melnik), is one of them. Her VK profile still displays her maiden name, Melnik. Until at least 2019, she was also listed as Melnik on the TSU website. Currently, she is the head of the university dormitory “Parus”. Two insiders familiar with the university’s administration confirmed this information.
Her husband, Vladislav Borovchenkov, also worked at TSU. Elena Borovchenkova has posted family photos and relationship statuses on her VK page.
On TSU’s official website, in the Household Management section, Borovchenkov is listed as a dormitory supervisor. However, his name does not appear in TSU’s staff directory. Previously, Borovchenkov worked as a police investigator in Tomsk.
Another relative working at TSU is Galazhinsky’s niece, Elizaveta Antonovna.
According to TSU’s online encyclopedia, Anton Galazhinsky, the rector’s brother, currently works at Tomsk Polytechnic University.
According to data leaks, the home address of an individual with the same full name as Elizaveta Galazhinskayamatches Anton Galazhinsky’s address.
“You can try to track who signed what documents and who reports to whom,” says lawyer Grigory Mashanov. “But in my opinion, the real issue here is not whether there's paperwork proving nepotism — it’s the simple fact that so many of the rector’s relatives work at TSU, rather than at any other university. This creates the perception of a conflict of interest, clear favoritism, and overall poor institutional practice.”
In Novosibirsk, there is a branch of TSU’s Law Institute. Its director, Lidiya Petrovna Chumakova, has headed the branch since 2003.
Her son, Alexey Vadimovich Chumakov, has also been involved in the branch’s operations. According to the insider familiar with TSU, Chumakov worked as the Deputy Head of the Academic Department at least until 2017, though no archived web records from that year were found to confirm this information.
Later, TSU Rector Eduard Galazhinsky intervened to remove Chumakov from his position at the branch.
“The rector firmly insisted that [Director Chumakova] fire [her son Alexey], even though she was against it. Eventually, Alexey became an associate professor, and he still works at the branch today. He is, overall, a competent employee, but in this case, the rector took a strong stance,” says the insider familiar with the situation at TSU.
During his student years, Alexey Chumakov served as Chairman of the Student Council at TSU Law Institute.
While studying, he authored research papers on “patriotism” and “civic-mindedness” in university education.
“University years are a period of intense socialization, during which personal values are formed. At this stage, young people plan their futures, making civic education particularly important in higher education institutions. This article explores the development of civic-mindedness and patriotism in law students, using the activities of NYUI TSU’s student self-government structures as an example,” Chumakov wrote in a 2014 research paper as Chairman of the Student Council.
In 2016, Chumakov became Chairman of the Council of Young Lawyers at the Novosibirsk Regional Branch of the Russian Lawyers’ Association. Many of the Council’s projects take place within TSU’s facilities. According to the TSU website, TSU Law Institute is the only university in Novosibirsk accredited by the Russian Lawyers’ Association.
As reported by Russian newspaper in 2016, at the time, Chumakov was a master’s student at TSU Law Institute. Shortly thereafter, he wrote an entire op-ed about the Council of Young Lawyers’ activities — particularly its role in “patriotic education”.
“Today, it is not enough to simply feel love for one’s homeland on an emotional level. A patriot must also be someone who knows and respects national laws and adheres to the rights and responsibilities of a citizen. Thus, the modern direction of youth policy is clear — patriotic and legal education of young people,” Chumakov wrote.
Ludmila Chumakova is also a member of the Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Lawyers’ Association.
According to lawyer Grigory Mashanov, in order to prevent conflicts of interest in universities, anti-corruption lawsneed to be more clearly defined, particularly for those who might find themselves in such situations.
“I believe that the anti-corruption law should explicitly state that conflicts of interest must apply either to all employees of state institutions or, at the very least, to those in leadership positions. The current regulations are too fragmented — each government agency has its own list of organizations and designated officials subject to these rules. As a result, it becomes very difficult to determine who is required to declare conflicts of interest and who is not. The logic behind these rules is hard to follow,” Mashanov explains.
Furthermore, Russia’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education should pay more attention to conflicts of interest in universities. At present, Ministry of Science and Higher Education appears largely uninterested in this issue, Mashanov believes.
“There needs to be a clear demonstration of commitment from Ministry of Science and Higher Education — some kind of public acknowledgment that they take this issue seriously. There should also be established rules for dismissing employees who fail to address a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest in itself is not a crime — anyone can unexpectedly find themselves in such a situation. The key issue is how one resolves the conflict. Ministry of Science and Higher Education needs to show some level of engagement, because right now, it seems like they don’t care at all,” the lawyer explains.
