In Ukraine, the defense of theses has long since turned into a well-established conveyor belt, where a scientific degree has become not the result of years of research and creative search, but an attribute necessary for “status”. All those with money and connections are protected — politicians and top officials, judges and law enforcement officers, bankers and military generals, media personalities and even sports stars. Defense of candidate and doctoral theses has not become an exception, but a systematic practice that has been going on for years and is only gaining momentum. It is not just about “fashion” among people employed in positions where the very fact of scientific activity raises reasonable doubts. The problem is much deeper and more dangerous: this is a question for the Ministry of Education and Science, educational institutions, academic councils, academic supervisors and opponents, who for years turn a blind eye to obvious falsifications, fabrication of results and plagiarism. Real science took a back seat, giving way to the formal “stamping” of scientific degrees for ambitious “PhDs” or “PhDs”. We are talking about the devaluation of science itself, the loss of trust in Ukrainian universities and scientific institutions as such.
Dissertation defense by Oleksandr Usyk
The recent defense of the thesis by the famous boxer, absolute world champion Oleksandr Usyk at the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs (KHNUVS) and awarding him a scientific degree of doctor of philosophy in the field of “law” caused a loud public outcry and sharp criticism among scientists and the public. The academic council of the institution made a decision unanimously, recognizing Usyk’s dissertation on the topic “Administrative and legal support of international cooperation in the field of physical culture and sports” as a successful one.
Despite the official decision of the special council, the reaction of the scientific community and society turned out to be extremely negative. Many outraged comments and accusations of complete imitation of the scientific process, profanation of science and academic integrity appeared on social networks. Critics point out that it is not even about Usyk’s personality or his achievements in sports and helping the army, but that the defense procedure itself has turned into a farce.
Usyk’s behavior during defense attracted special attention. Gross mistakes in the Ukrainian language, with which the athlete read the prepared text from the sheet, became the subject of sharp criticism. Usyk confused words, skipped syllables, twisted terms. In particular, he managed to pronounce the word “intensify” only on the third attempt. Usyk demonstrated a level of mastery of the language and material that does not allow him to be considered the author of a serious scientific work. It is noteworthy that comments were disabled under the news about the defense on the official Facebook page of KhNUVS. But even this did not save from a wave of sarcasm – more than 3,200 laughing emoticons gathered under the post.
It was no less revealing who was Usyk’s opponent. He became the honored kickboxing coach of Ukraine VTKA Oleksandr Morgunov. At the same time, no comments or questions from members of the academic council were heard during the defense. In addition, Oleksandr Usyk’s supervisor, Professor Oleksandr Muzychuk, received a lot of criticism. So, for example, the mass media spread the post of the associate professor of Sumy State University Oleg Smirnov on this matter:
“Regarding the supervisor of the dissertation of the boxer Usyk. This is a very bright personality. Oleksandr Mykolayovych Muzychuk, doctor of legal sciences, professor, honored lawyer of Ukraine. Academic supervisor of 15 dissertations with plagiarism. Opponent of 23 dissertations with plagiarism”.
Oleg Smirnov also openly declared on his Facebook page about the falsifications in Usyk’s dissertation. He claims that the work contains references to unknown sources for which no confirmation can be found. As an example, he cites the thesis from the section “Scientific novelty of the obtained results”, where it says: “For the first time, the classification of international normative legal acts was carried out.” According to Smirnov, this work is a typical “citation book” with a complete selection of common phrases and plagiarism.
In addition, the coordinator of the Dysergate anti-plagiarism initiative, Svitlana Vovk, stated that the academic council actually took part in the simulation of the certification process and awarded the boxer a degree that he had no right to receive. She called on the National Agency for Quality Assurance of Higher Education to review the decision of the National Academy of Higher Education and Science and to cancel the award of the degree based on the violation of the principles of academic integrity and the fact of academic fraud.
“Mr. Usyk, why simulate defending a dissertation? Why do you need to devalue Ukrainian science with such an act? Do you want to receive extra payment for a fake degree and join the fake scientists who are robbing the budget of Ukraine? Given your busy schedule of training and matches, it is obvious that you have not had time to conduct research, write articles and dissertations, and attend conferences.” Vovk said.
She emphasized that the champion, if he is worthy of his victories, should give up the fake diploma and apologize to society. And its scientific director and members of the special council should be suspended from scientific activities.
She spoke sharply about the scandalous defense of the dissertation and the acting the president of the Kyiv Aviation Institute, Ksenia Semenova, who compared the situation to receiving boxing awards for participating in other sportsmen’s fights:
“I wonder what Usyk would say if it was possible to get a championship belt without training, without defeating an opponent in the ring – another boxer will do it for you, because you don’t have time for it objectively. And then you speak at a press conference and already there you are deservedly given a championship belt. At the same time, the judges themselves, who saw a completely different person in the ring, calmly give the belt to you. It’s the same, isn’t it?”
Former Ukrainian tennis player, active serviceman of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Serhiy Stakhovskyi also reacted to the scandal, calling for the composition of the academic council that made the decision to award Usyk a scientific degree to be made public.
“What’s wrong with the professor? Is it not muddy anywhere? If anyone knows the composition of the academic council, please announce these stars to all of Ukraine.” Stakhovsky wrote on social networks.
Pavlo Bulgak, former adviser to the Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, also did not hold back in his statements:
“If Usyk is a doctor of philosophy in the field of law, then I am a Jedi master. With all due respect to Oleksandr’s legendary sports achievements, his patriotism and the help of the Armed Forces. See thesis defense. It’s just shameful. The winner even reads from a piece of paper with grammar and logic! mistakes typical of junior high school students. Skips entire syllables in words or changes their places. Sorry, he can’t even pronounce the word “dissertation”, he says “dissertation”, instead of “theoretical” he says “theoretical”. And there is a lot of that. Well, finally, there should be some respect for science and scientific degrees in Ukraine – for the level of intelligence and the Ukrainian language, which a real candidate of science should possess.”
Therefore, the defense of Usyk became a vivid illustration of how deeply rooted the practice of conveyor belt awarding of scientific degrees is in Ukraine. At the same time, questions to academic supervisors, special councils and the certification system remain unanswered. This scandal became another proof of how easy it is today to get a scientific diploma, devaluing the work of those who are really engaged in science.
Fake science as a systemic business
Fake science in Ukraine has long become a systemic business with an extensive network of intermediaries, agreements and a clearly structured earning scheme. It is not about young scientists or real researchers who have been working on the topic for years and defending the results of their work. There are many real scientists in Ukraine, and not all candidates and doctors of science are related to such business. Among them are really talented researchers and authoritative scientists and those who, thanks to their principles and moral convictions, are able to evaluate dissertations honestly and impartially. It’s about selling custom degrees to people who have nothing to do with science at all, but have ambition and a lot of money.
The scheme works like this: the rector of the educational institution negotiates with “necessary and authoritative” people who want to protect themselves. Of course, not for “thank you”. The agreement includes a “package of services” — full support, writing of “scientific” work, articles, organization of defense and issuance of a diploma. The rectors pass the tasks down to the departments, scientific departments and the so-called “literary slaves” – graduate students, teachers who stamp dozens of these “dissertations”, articles in professional publications, ensure “scientific novelty” and other formal requirements.
Next, the head of the academic council enters the game. He prepares everything necessary, selects convenient opponents, agrees with the members of the academic council on a positive secret vote. A typical performance takes place during the defense. The members of the academic council receive the text of the winner’s speech in advance and even their questions to him. The applicant himself reads the text of his report from a sheet of paper in response to pre-written answers to questions. Often he doesn’t even understand what he reads, sometimes he can’t even pronounce words from the topic of his “dissertation” correctly. But it suits everyone. Because the main thing is to conduct the procedure and ensure a positive, unanimous decision. The conclusion of the “defense” is the announcement of the results, “heartfelt” applause and the ceremonial presentation of the diploma to the newly minted “Doctor of Science” or “Doctor of Philosophy”.
This is an entire industry in higher education. There are special departments that deal exclusively with this “business”. Candidates of science, post-graduate students work there, and they are given specific tasks – to write another “scientific paper” to order. In addition, there are dozens of turnkey dissertation firms operating openly in Ukraine, which have a whole staff and clients. At the same time, you can order a dissertation directly or through an intermediary company. The price of the question depends only on the level of the university and the surname on the diploma. Prices are based on the “prestige” of the establishment. The Shevchenko Kyiv University or Yaroslav the Wise Kharkiv Academy are the most expensive. The cheapest are provincial universities.
As of 2025, the average cost of a standard-level candidate’s dissertation ranges from 90,000 to 140,000 hryvnias. And this is a rather modest amount, there are much higher. At the same time, you need to pay separately for the organization of the defense, the work of the academic council, opponents and a whole list of related “services”. Even those who write and defend a thesis honestly cannot avoid these costs. Compulsory expenses include:
– printing of two copies of the thesis and stitching them into a hard cover;
– checking the work for anti-plagiarism;
– editing, printing of abstracts and their distribution to universities and scientific institutions.
But the financial extortions do not end there. There is also a list of so-called “optional expenses”, without which it is almost impossible to do:
– thanks to the reviewers (usually three people), each – from 50 to 200 dollars;
– thanks to opponents – approximately $300 for a candidate of sciences, $500 to $1,000 for a doctor, depending on his “appetite”. At the same time, the winner himself and the academic supervisor write his review for the opponent;
– thanks to the scientific supervisor — from several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on luck;
– thanks to the chairman of the academic council and the academic secretary – an average of 300 dollars to the chairman and 200 dollars to the secretary for admitting the work to the defense.
A separate expense item is a festive banquet after the defense. No “successful” defense is complete without a feast with expensive alcohol and food. The cost of such celebrations can reach tens of thousands of hryvnias. In addition, it is still necessary to present a package with the best products to those opponents and members of the academic council who came from other cities, as well as pay for their travel and hotel accommodation.
As a result, it turns out that the entire system of academic councils has turned into a fiction. Everyone, from the chairman of the council to the last opponent, pretends that any nonsense is “science”. Everyone can see that the applicant does not understand the topic, everyone can see the level of preparation, they can also see plagiarism, but… there will be only one decision – “unanimously award a scientific degree.” Because the main thing is that they paid. This is how newly minted doctors of philosophy and doctors of science are “stamped” – politicians, judges, prosecutors, athletes who can neither write, nor think, nor pronounce the word “dissertation”, but with a diploma bought for a lot of money.
It is almost impossible to fight this system. This is a mechanism established over the years, where everyone knows their place and their price. Everyone participates in this process – rectors, heads of academic councils, academic supervisors, reviewers, opponents and simple executors-employees of the departments. There is actually no one to complain about this system, and an attempt to openly speak out against it can end with a person simply being “broken” morally or fired. It is especially difficult to protest where the thesis can be defended only in a limited number of academic councils — for example, in specialized fields. There is no choice: either play by the rules of the system, or not get a degree at all.
The problem of plagiarism in “scientific research”
The problem of plagiarism in Ukrainian dissertations long ago went beyond the boundaries of individual high-profile scandals and turned into a systemic phenomenon that undermines trust in the entire scientific community and education in general. According to official data, from 1993 to 2020, about 200,000 dissertations were defended in Ukraine — more than 22,000 doctors of science and 156,000 candidates. That is, every year an average of two thousand new scientists joined the ranks of the “knowledge elite”. But it is impossible to calculate how many of these works have real scientific value. Recent years only confirm that quantity does not mean quality for a long time. The Ministry of Education and Science reports: in 2024, 415 diplomas of doctors of science and 341 diplomas of candidate of sciences were issued. According to the Higher Attestation Commission of Ukraine, out of 100,000 Ukrainian doctors and candidates of sciences, only 20,000 actually work in science. The rest received diplomas and thus completed their “scientific career”. But the main question is who are these people, and what is behind their “scientific achievements”?
As of March 5, 2025, in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 38 People’s Deputies have a Doctor of Science degree, and another 80 have a Candidate of Science degree. And while deputies talk about reforms and a new country from the stands, activists, journalists and academic integrity experts regularly find ordinary plagiarism in their dissertations — copied pieces of other people’s texts, research results that have nothing to do with the “author”. It should be noted that this situation is not only among parliamentarians.
What is even more infuriating is that those who should be the guardians of science and academic integrity were repeatedly exposed for plagiarism. The heads of the Ministry of Education and Science, officials of specialized departments are those who have to demonstrate the standard of purity of scientific work by their own example. The example of the current Minister of Education and Science, Oksen Lisovoy, is illustrative. In an interview with Suspilno, he himself admitted that at one time he defended his candidate’s thesis only formally – not because of a desire to pursue a scientific career. When allegations of plagiarism surfaced online after his appointment as a minister, he publicly announced his intention to give up his degree. This was almost the first such case in Ukraine, when a high-ranking official refused a scientific degree, but not because he acted honestly, but because he was exposed and there was a public outcry.
In addition, in February 2024, the National Agency for Quality Assurance of Higher Education officially confirmed the presence of plagiarism in the doctoral dissertation of former Minister of Education Serhii Shkarlet. The Ethics Committee’s report found massive borrowing without citing the original sources. The scandal went public, but no real consequences, apart from loud headlines, ever came.
And these are far from isolated cases. Such stories are a constant reality of Ukrainian science, where academic integrity has become a conditional concept. Plagiarism in dissertations is not an exception, but a practice that has long been built into the system. Stories about how dozens of pages are copied from other people’s works are not surprising. This is not surprising, because most dissertations do not undergo independent verification at all. The paradox is that not only the reputation of individual politicians or officials is under attack. Ukrainian science itself is suffering as an institution. The degree of candidate or doctor of sciences has long ceased to be an indicator of knowledge or level of intelligence, it is a purchased status, just as awards, titles, positions, etc. are purchased.
Academic integrity is not the norm in Ukraine today, and until the situation changes, diplomas and scientific degrees of Ukrainian universities will continue to be perceived as empty pieces of paper bought with money. And Ukrainian science will remain in a deep crisis – not because of the lack of talented people, but because of the dominance of fake science, which is created not in scientific laboratories, but in the accounting offices and safes of officials. That’s how it turns out – fake scientists multiply, occupy leadership positions, shape state policy, including in the fields of science and education, while real scientists remain ingloriously sitting for years in low-level positions, receiving a modest salary. At the same time, Ukrainian science finally loses its face. And this is not even a shame. This is a disaster.
