User agreement

Revised 30 August 2026.

This is a translation of the Russian document for convenience. If there is any discrepancy, the Russian text at https://disscat.com/soglashenie prevails.

1. General provisions

1.1. This User agreement (the “Agreement”) governs use of the site “Russian Dissertation Library” (Disscat) at https://en.disscat.com (the “Site”) and orders for the document search and electronic delivery service.

1.2. The Operator of the Site is the person administering the Site under the name Russian Dissertation Library (Disscat). Contact address: disscatcom@gmail.com. The Operator’s details will be added in the current edition of this Agreement.

1.3. A user is a visitor to the Site, including a person placing an order for the service.

1.4. Use of the Site, including viewing catalog pages, constitutes acceptance of the terms of the Agreement. Placing and paying for an order constitutes conclusion of a contract for the corresponding service on the terms of the Agreement.

1.5. Processing of personal data is described in the Privacy policy.

1.6. If the user does not agree with the Agreement, they must stop using the Site.

2. Catalog

2.1. The Site provides free access to a catalog of bibliographic records and abstracts of dissertations and dissertation abstracts: title, author, year, degree, organisation, VAK specialty, and keywords.

2.2. Full texts of dissertations and dissertation abstracts are not stored in the catalog and are not distributed as content of the Site. The presence of a record in the catalog does not mean that the Operator holds an electronic copy of the work.

2.3. The catalog is intended for personal, scholarly, educational, and informational use.

3. Search and electronic delivery service

3.1. In addition to the catalog, the Operator may provide a paid service: arranging a search for a scholarly work in the holdings of public libraries, archives, and open internet sources, and sending the document found (or part of it, unless the order terms provide otherwise) to the user in electronic form.

3.2. The service is not a sale of a copy of the work and does not transfer exclusive rights in the work to the user. The user receives the result of bibliographic reference service for personal non-commercial use for scholarly, educational, or informational purposes, unless the law provides otherwise.

3.3. The specific scope, time, and price are stated in the order form on the Site before payment.

3.4. The Operator does not guarantee that the work is available in every requested source. If the document is not found, the user is informed and payment is refunded under section 5, except where the order form expressly provides otherwise.

4. Order and payment

4.1. An order is placed on the Site: the user identifies the work (from the catalog or by a search query), provides an email address, and pays for the service through an available payment provider.

4.2. The contract for the service is deemed concluded upon successful payment, unless the order form specifies a different moment.

4.3. The result is sent to the email address indicated by the user in the manner and within the time stated in the order form.

4.4. The user is responsible for the accuracy of the address and order details. An incorrect address may make delivery impossible.

4.5. The user independently ensures access to email and the technical means needed to receive the file.

5. Refunds

5.1. Before payment, the user may abandon the order by not completing payment.

5.2. After payment, the user may request a refund within 14 calendar days if, due to a technical error of the Site or the Operator, it is impossible to use the result of the service, or if the document is not found and the order form did not exclude a refund in that case.

5.3. The request is sent to disscatcom@gmail.com with the order identifier and a description of the reason. A decision is communicated within a reasonable time; if approved, the refund is made within 10 business days by the same payment instrument, if the provider so allows.

5.4. If the result has been duly delivered and there are no defects preventing its use, payment for an individually performed service is not refunded except in cases expressly provided for by law.

6. Prohibitions

The user is prohibited from:

• interfering with the operation of the Site or circumventing access restrictions;
• collecting Site data by automated means (bots, crawlers, parsers) in a volume exceeding ordinary browser use, without the Operator’s prior consent;
• collecting and processing personal data of authors of works from the catalog other than by citing bibliographic information as permitted by law;
• using the Site to violate the law or the rights of third parties.

7. Intellectual property

7.1. The programs, design, and texts of the Site (other than bibliographic data, the rights in which belong to the respective rightholders) are protected by law.

7.2. Receipt of the result of the service does not transfer exclusive rights in the scholarly work to the user.

7.3. A rightholder who considers that material on the Site infringes their rights should send a notice to disscatcom@gmail.com with a link to the material and documents confirming the rights. The Operator considers the notice within a reasonable time.

8. Limitation of liability

8.1. The Operator does not guarantee uninterrupted operation of the Site.

8.2. The Operator does not conduct a legal review of the content of scholarly works and is not responsible for the work’s compliance with the law, for the author’s conclusions, or for the consequences of the user’s use of the work.

8.3. The Operator is not responsible for failures of communications networks, mail and payment systems, or for the acts of third parties outside the Operator’s reasonable control.

8.4. The Operator does not guarantee that the bibliographic information in the catalog is complete and up to date at every moment.

9. Privacy

Processing of personal data is governed by the Privacy policy.

10. Final provisions

10.1. The Agreement is governed by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

10.2. The current edition is published at https://en.disscat.com/user-agreement. Continued use of the Site after a new edition is posted constitutes acceptance of the changes to the extent permitted by law.

10.3. The parties shall attempt to settle disputes by correspondence. The user sends a claim to disscatcom@gmail.com. The Operator replies within 30 business days. A repeated claim — a further 30 business days. An unresolved dispute is considered by a court in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. Until an Operator address appears in the details, venue is determined by law.

10.4. Invalidity of a particular provision does not affect the remaining provisions.