Russian Vladimir Platonov loses degree over plagiarism

Several German politicians lost graduate degrees over plagiarism; now a Russian suffered the same fate; the Moscow Times reports


The Ministry of Education and Science has stripped a former speaker of the Moscow City Duma of his doctoral degree, after he conceded that his thesis contained "unconscientious borrowing."



The ministry said it acted on the request of the former speaker Vladimir Platonov, to revoke his degree and on a ruling by the state certification board, according to the ministry's order published this week by Dissernet.org — an online group aimed at exposing intellectual fraud by public figures.



Dissernet exposed parts of Platonov's thesis for a doctoral law degree as having been lifted from other sources, according to the group's report last fall.



Platonov responded months later, saying he had made a "difficult decision" and asked the State Commission for Academic Degrees and Titles to revoke his degree.




In the United States, VP Joe Biden was caught plagiarizing in law school and Glenn Poshard was caught copying in his Ph.D. thesis. Biden had to repeat the course, but graduated and
went on to other things. Poshard kept his Ph.D. and job.