Peer review is a critical assessment of manuscripts. All manuscripts submitted to Oftalmologicheskii Zhurnal that are selected for peer review are sent to at least one, but usually two or more, independent reviewers, selected by the editors. Authors are welcome to suggest suitable independent reviewers but the editor's decision on the choice of referees is final. Moreover, the reviewer's identity is kept anonymous from the authors.

Editors avoid selecting external peer reviewers with obvious potential conflicts of interest. Authors can provide editors with names of persons they feel shouldn’t be asked to review a manuscript because of potential conflict of interests with explanation their concerns. Since single-blind peer review is used, the reviewers can see the author's details. So, they must disclose to editors any conflicts of interest that could bias their opinions of the manuscript. They should recuse themselves from reviewing specific manuscripts if the potential for bias exists. Reviewers must not use knowledge of the work, before its publication, to further their own interests.

Editors make clear to their reviewers that manuscripts sent for review are the private property of the authors and therein information mustn’t be disclosed. Reviewers are not allowed to make copies of the manuscript for their files. Reviewers must not use knowledge of the work, before its publication, to further their own interests.

Manuscripts are reviewed with due respect for confidentiality. In submitting their manuscripts for review, authors entrust editors with the results of their scientific work and creative effort, on which their reputation and career may depend. Authors’ rights may be violated by disclosure of the confidential details during review of their manuscript. Editors do not disclose information about manuscripts (including their receipt, content, status in the reviewing process, criticism by reviewers, or ultimate fate) to anyone other than the authors and reviewers. Violation of confidentiality is possible only if there is a claim of the unreliability or falsity of evidence, in all other cases, the confidentiality must not be violated. Reviewer’s comments are not published or otherwise publicized without permission of the reviewer, author, and editor.

When a manuscript is rejected, delete copies of it are deleted from our editorial system.

When a manuscript is published, the journal keeps copies of the original submission, reviews, revisions, and correspondence for at least three years to help answer future questions about the work should they arise.

Editorial decisions are based on the relevance of a manuscript to the journal and on the manuscript’s originality, quality, and contribution to evidence about important questions. Those decisions are not influenced by commercial interests, personal relationships or agendas.