First Semi-Final of Season IX of Science Battles: From Russian Post to Gender Inequality

The first semi-final of the new season of Science Battles took place at VDNKh. Four researchers from the Moscow, St Petersburg, and Nizhny Novgorod campuses of HSE University came together on one stage to prove that science recognises neither geographical nor disciplinary boundaries. The theme of the evening—Conquering Mountain Peaks—perfectly reflected the spirit of the competition: chemical formulas, social problems, psychology, and law all appeared side by side.

HSE Science Battles is a student science-communication project that for nine years has brought together early-career scholars with the boldest research ideas from a wide range of fields. Over this time, more than 130 students from different HSE campuses have taken the stage. Each participant is given ten minutes to present their work as vividly and engagingly as possible and then answer questions from the audience and the jury. The jury’s scores are combined with the results of the audience vote to determine the leader. Four semi-finals are held during the season, and their winners later meet in the final battle. The most successful researchers receive prizes, while the season’s champion is awarded an academic travel grant.

The semi-final was a space where research born in HSE classrooms and laboratories across the country reached a large audience and received a lively response from the spectators.

How Boxing Gloves Help Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

The evening was opened by Alisa Nikitina, a master’s student in Personology: Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy at the HSE University–Moscow Faculty of Social Sciences. Her presentation was titled ‘How Boxing Gloves Help Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.’ She stepped onto the stage wearing enormous boxing gloves and a sumo wrestler’s costume.

Alisa Nikitina

© HSE University

‘You are looking at us and thinking: either they have confused Science Battles with a sports championship, or psychologists have completely lost their minds,’ Alisa joked.

But the props were not merely a joke; they served as an accurate metaphor. Alisa studies how people live with rheumatoid arthritis—a disease in which the body attacks its own joints. ‘Imagine waking up and feeling as if your body weighs 200 kilograms. You cannot move. That is the reality for such patients,’ she explained.

After conducting 23 in-depth interviews with patients from rheumatology departments in Moscow and Saratov, Alisa identified the main metaphor used by women with the condition: ‘hands like boxing gloves’. When your own hands no longer obey you, it becomes impossible to perform simple everyday tasks or even hug a loved one. Yet it was precisely in this image that the researcher found a source of psychological support. If the meaning of the metaphor is reversed—'I am wearing gloves, which means I am in the ring, I am a fighter’—a person moves from the position of a victim to that of an active participant in their own life. In psychology, this process is known as correcting the internal picture of illness.

The audience responded with a standing ovation. When asked why the sample included only women, Alisa replied: ‘Men still tend to build a wall of denial. It is harder for them to talk about emotions. But we will work with them as well.’

The Legal Status of Russian Post

Alexandra Vasilenko, a third-year student in the Law programme at the HSE Campus in St Petersburg, chose a topic familiar to everyone but rarely considered seriously: ‘The Modest Joy of Telegrams: Is Russian Post Still Relevant?’ The student set out to understand what Russian Post represents in the era of online marketplaces and instant digital transfers—a relic of the past or a continuing necessity.

Alexandra Vasilenko

© HSE University

Alexandra’s research is based on interviews with employees of post offices in St Petersburg and the Leningrad region, as well as an analysis of the legal status of the national postal operator. The project was inspired by a personal story: in the village where her grandfather lived, difficult working conditions once led postal employees to stop coming to work—and pension payments were delayed for an entire month.

‘I would like you to remember one thing after my talk: the legal status of an organisation always affects how it operates. The post is not simply about delivering letters. It is infrastructure on which people’s lives depend, especially in small settlements,’ the researcher emphasised.

As Alexandra explained, the current legal form of Russian Post is that of a joint-stock company. Under the existing financing model, the company is expected to be financially self-sufficient. As a result, many post offices have effectively turned into small shops where visitors can buy almost anything—from canned sprats and pasta to lottery tickets and toys. Recently, pick-up points for online marketplaces have also appeared in postal branches. Alexandra suggested reconsidering the legal framework in order to maintain a balance between the organisation’s social mission and its economic sustainability. In her view, the status of a state corporation would be more appropriate.

Power and Safety in a Single Molecule

The third speaker was Daria Milovanova, a fourth-year student of the Bachelor’s in Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry of HSE University in Moscow. Her presentation was titled ‘With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Power and Safety in a Single Molecule.’ She devoted her talk to high-energy compounds—nitrogen-rich organic molecules capable of storing and releasing large amounts of energy.

Daria Milovanova

© HSE University

‘My main task is not only to obtain new high-energy compounds but also to make them safe to handle,’ Daria noted.

Such compounds are used in construction, the mining industry, and as components of rocket fuel. However, high energetic efficiency often means increased sensitivity and risk.

Daria described the synthesis of new nitro compounds that combine power with stability. Her goal is to create substances capable of releasing large amounts of energy while remaining safe during storage and transportation. She explained which parameters determine a substance’s sensitivity, why it is important to maintain a balance between energy density and molecular stability, and how laboratory experiments help bring researchers closer to solutions that can be used in industry.

The audience actively joined the discussion, asking questions about possible applications, environmental risks, and prospects for practical implementation. Daria’s presentation demonstrated how fundamental chemistry can be directly connected to the safety of everyday life.

Hidden Algorithms of Inequality

The semi-final concluded with a presentation by Yulia Grinina, a bachelor’s student in the International Programme in Business and Economics at the HSE University–Nizhny Novgorod Faculty of Management. Her talk was titled ‘The Mystery of the Missing 26%: Why Gender Determines Salary.’ Her research focused on gender inequality in the Russian labour market.

Yulia Grinina

© HSE University

Yulia worked with data from RLMS-HSE, one of the most authoritative datasets on socio-economic conditions in Russia. After conducting an econometric analysis and controlling for differences in education, work experience, job position, and other characteristics, she obtained a consistent result: even when men and women have comparable starting conditions, the income gap remains. On average, women earn 26% less than men.

At the centre of her analysis are two key phenomena: the ‘motherhood penalty’ (the drop in women’s earnings after the birth of children) and the ‘glass ceiling’ (hidden discriminatory barriers that prevent women from reaching managerial positions). Statistics confirm that men are 2.8% more likely to obtain a managerial role. ‘All these problems are rooted in stereotypes and long-established social attitudes,’ the researcher emphasised.

Yulia believes that solving the problem requires a combination of government initiatives and corporate policies. Possible measures include introducing salary audits, strengthening support for families (both mothers and fathers), creating transparent career paths within companies, and consistently challenging outdated stereotypes.

Her presentation was a vivid example of how rigorous quantitative methods can move public discussions from the realm of emotion to the realm of evidence-based research.

© HSE University

Based on the combined results of the audience vote and the jury’s assessment, the winner of the first semi-final of the ninth season of the Science Battles project was Alexandra Vasilenko. Yulia Grinina took second place. The first semi-final demonstrated that behind every research project there is a personal story of perseverance, and that the path to the summit begins with the first step onto the stage.

The competition at this stage was judged by:

  Ekaterina Zorina-Tikhonova, Associate Professor at the Joint Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Science with the Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry (RAS)

  Daria Zinchenko, Assistant Professor at the Department of Applied Economics, HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences

  Evgenia Balabanova, Professor at the School of Sociology, HSE Faculty of Social Sciences

  Elena Kazennaya, Associate Professor at the School of Psychology, HSE Faculty of Social Sciences

The next semi-final will take place on March 14, 2026, at 1 pm as part of the TechProsVet VK Festival. If you are interested in hearing research presentations in the fields of sociology, computer science, energy studies, and communications, please sign up for this event in advance.