The paper has interesting and provocative toughs. Still the considerations on “dark networks and mafias” is not accurate. The author says that “These are channels where participation is based on personal connections, on whom you know and who needs you for the safety and perpetuation of the dark network”. The authors seem to forget that dark networks and mafias are not only based on personal connections but also on a criminal expertise. Therefore, they do not serve to be compared to academic networks where participation can be based only on personal connections between those who show the “the ability and promise to preserve the dark networks”.This paper highlight’s the hidden aspects of promotion in academia that is more severe mostly in low quality universities. However, it should have been complemented by an analysis of the correlation between the number of Highly Cited Researcher 2016 according to Clarivate Analytics and the academic inbreeding percentage in public universities. Academic inbreeding “can easily lead to academic fossilization and knowledge atrophy..high levels of institutional inbreeding generate structural and organizational rigidity, as closed groups reinforce existing structures rather than adapt new ones in response to new social and knowledge requirements” (Horta, Veloso and Grediaga 2010). Others also believe that academic inbreeding foster corruption: http://hayderecho.com/2015/01/08/endogamia-omerta-y-corrupcion-en-la-universidad/http://www.universidadsi.es/los-efectos-perversos-de-la-endogamia-universitaria/http://www.eldiario.es/solow_en_el_parnaso/endogamia-tabues-universidad-espanola_6_607249280.html Russia is a country with a very high level of academic inbreeding (Horta & Yudkevich, 2015) and has only one Highly Cited Researcher with Russia as Primary Affiliation (Sergei Morozov) and two more Sergei Odintsov and Vladmir Uversky with Russia as secondary affiliation. Ukraine is also know for high level of academic inbreeding (Sologoub & Coupé, 2015)) its then no surprise that it has not a single Highly Cited Researcher. Horta, H., & Yudkevich, M. (2015). The role of academic inbreeding in developing higher education systems: Challenges and possible solutions. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. Horta, H., Veloso, F. M., & Grediaga, R. (2010). Navel gazing: Academic inbreeding and scientific productivity. Management Science, 56(3), 414–429 Sologoub, I., & Coupé, T. (2015). Academic Inbreeding in Ukraine. In Academic Inbreeding and Mobility in Higher Education (pp. 228-258). Palgrave Macmillan UK.