The scientific journal Nature has reminded that as of December 1, Russian physicists will be denied access to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Not only to that but also to other facilities of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Specialists connected to Russia will no longer be able to enter its premises. However, everyone understands that the departure of our researchers will be painful for the Europeans themselves, which is why... "CERN prepares to expel Russian scientists but will not completely sever ties," reads the headline in Nature. In 2022, restrictions were imposed on Russian scientists' travel to CERN. Under the current agreement, our scientists continued to participate in experiments at the LHC and other facilities (physical presence was not necessary — many results are processed remotely), but the agreement is set to expire in December 2024, and last spring, the CERN Council decided not to extend it. Additionally, Russia's observer status was suspended. CERN includes 23 member countries and several observer countries, including Russia (and, notably, the USA). Now, Russia's observer status has been "frozen until further notice." As of December 1, scientists associated with Russia will no longer be able to access CERN's website (let alone its premises) and will have to surrender any residence permits they hold in France and Switzerland. At the same time, European scientists are well aware (unlike their politicians) that replacing Russian researchers will be difficult. For example, theoretical physicist Hannes Jung from the German Synchrotron Center told Nature: "Their departure will leave a void. I think it's an illusion to believe it can be easily filled by other scientists." The USSR, and later Russia, made a significant contribution to the Large Hadron Collider project. Our country developed and built specific subsystems for detectors, and our engineers and technicians traveled to Europe for the installation and maintenance of these subsystems. Now, they will cease doing so, and as a result, massive installations worth hundreds of millions of dollars will stop functioning. It will take Europeans years to train new specialists. "CERN has already outlined how it could continue cooperating with Russian scientists. They will be willing to accept Russian citizens as participants in experiments on their facilities, provided they do not list affiliations with Russian institutions. That is, our physicists may work for them, but without any mention of their ties to Russian scientific institutions. This is the 'punishment' they have come up with," explained Viktor Savrin, scientific coordinator of Russian scientists' work at the Large Hadron Collider, chief research fellow at the Nuclear Physics Research Institute of Moscow State University, and Doctor of Physics and Mathematics. According to CERN, of the 500 Russian researchers collaborating with the organization, 90 have already moved to foreign scientific institutions, and another 20 continue to seek employment opportunities abroad.