A toast to Soviet science

PeteinBlack (“Soviet administrators”, Letters, 14 May) is convinced that “the managerialist regime inside many universities is worryingly similar to aspects of the Soviet Union”. If only it were so. Even the logician and maverick dissident Alexander Zinoviev (1922-2006) came to regret the passing-away of Soviet research institutes, with their friendly atmospheres and often vodka-fuelled discussions.

R. E. Rawles
Honorary research fellow in psychology
University College London