“I was born on April 12, the International Aviation and Cosmonautics Day,” Anisimov says, with a distinguishable American accent. He explains: as a teenager, he spent one year living with an American family in the US. He later studied and worked on the other side of the Atlantic.
Childhood dream
But Ansimov's story begins in a small town in Belarus. After one year as an exchange student in the US, he decided to study international law. He first went to the Belarusian University of Law for several semesters, but later spotted a programme in international and European law offered in the European Humanities University in Vilnius. He successfully applied for the course and came to Lithuania in 2007.
During the final year, Anisimov took a course in international public law which includes air law as one of its branches.
“In the textbook, there was one – literally, just one! – paragraph on space law and it changed everything. First, I learned that such a thing existed and, second, I realized it was the thing I wanted to concern myself with,” the Belarusian says.
Anisimov decided to write his final undergraduate thesis on legal space tourism. People around him did not take the topic seriously and kept making jokes. Besides, materials on the topic were very scarce.
“When my faculty learned my thesis topic, they smiled. I had to do a lot of work on my own, write letters to various space-related international organizations and agencies, to ask for accessible information. One professor in Nebraska agreed to supervise my work. He said it was an interesting subject of the future that could open up immense possibilities, he encouraged me and helped a great deal,” Anisimov says.
What made him pick this rather exotic area of law? “I've always been fascinated by space,” Ansimov replies. “And when I learned about space law, I realized it was a way for me to use my passion for space and become a space lawyer. It is a completely new area, research into it began in the 1960s in the United States. Space does not belong to any country, there are no territories, completely different rules apply. I am fascinated and want to dedicate my life to it!”
He laughs when he recalls how in his childhood, when someone asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he would say: an astronaut! It was in Lithuania, he says, that he sensed his childhood dream might still come true.
The only foreigner in class
After he graduated from the European Humanities University, Anisimov applied for the Space, Cybernetics, and Telecommunication Law course in the University of Nebraska College of Law – the only programme of this sort in the world. Only 8-10 students graduate from it each year.
In 2010, Anisimov was the only non-American graduate. With a diploma in his hands, he went to Washington, DC, to look for a job.
Unfortunately, Americans are very protective of all information about space and there are many regulations barring foreigners from positions that deal with space travel and research, for fear of leaking sensitive information about technology, databases, state secrets.
Seeing that landing a job in Washington might be tricky, Anisimov moved to New York City, where he now works.
“I could not find any job for three months because I didn't have an American passport. So I started working for non-profit organizations that did not deal so much with secret information,” Anisimov recalls.
Since 2009, he has been a volunteer at the Space Generation Advisory Council, an international non-profit NGO set up by the UN. Its aim is to bring the views of students and young space professionals to the United Nations, space industry, and other organisations.
Two years for a lawyar's license
Anisimov had to study hard to pass an exam in order to be able to practise law in the State of New York. He passed it in October 2012.
“It took me, a foreigner, two years to get a license to work as a lawyer here. It's hard but wonderful,” the Belarusian rejoices.
Since the beginning of this year, Anisimov has been working for NewSpace Global, a commercial company that offers consulting services to the finance industry all over the world.
He started as an intern in the company's Legal Department. Thanks to his fluency in Russian and extensive knowledge of the post-Soviet world, he was offered a position to work with companies specializing on the Russian market.
Big money
What would be a dream job for Anisimov? It takes time before he formulates an answer: “A dream job is your hobby that pays very well.”
He assures that, whatever happens next, his future will be linked to space. Advice on space law is very lucratively paid, so Anisimov plans to do a PhD and deepen his expertise in the area.
Only a handful of companies in the world have space law departments, Anisimov says. In the future, he dreams of opening a space law firm.
“You are a theoretician. You have a degree in space law, you practice it, even though you have never been to outer space and probably never will,” I tell the young man. He smiles.
“Everything that is done in space, begins here, on Earth. If you want to launch a satellite, you must find a private company to build one. For this to happen, you must sign a contract, outline responsibilities, and that is where we come in. Then you need to find a space shuttle to transport the satellite. Again, you need space lawyers.
“Once you have a satellite, you must have an agreement with the state on a permission to launch it, on insurance against accidents. Then you must discuss with the Government from where and to where the satellite could be launched. As you can see, there are plenty of things to attend to before you can start a business in space. Each of these contracts is worth 30 to 350 million dollars. Since several-percent commission go to lawyers, it makes this branch of law very attractive financially,” Anisimov says.
Lithuania's space ambitions
Lithuania has little presence in space. In 2009, it established the National Space Association. It was renamed the Lithuanian Space Association (LKA) a year later. In 2010, the LKA founded a private research organization, the Space Science and Technology Institute.
Last March, Mykolas Romeris University organized a conference “Space Business and Law: Mysticism or Reality?” Among other things, the conference introduced the first rocket launch centre in Ignalina Aerodrome.
In the coming autumn, the first Lithuanian satellite LituanicaSAT-1 is to be launched from the US. The plan is to take a photo of Lithuania from space and carry out several experiments. The project is entirely a product of enthusiasm, fully funded by money raised by its authors.
The Lithuanian Government and the European Space Agency have signed an agreement on cooperation in space research.
