user5009: I've just discovered that my question asking about an English term that an English biotechnitian would use was migrated to, of all possible SEs, the Russian Language SE. 
This is just to register my amazement at this decision. I've very little free time right now. 
Let me cite a comment left by WYSIWIG:

This is not a question about biology or chemistry. It is basically a question about Russian language and the meaning of a Russian term in English. – WYSIWYG 7 

Nothing can be farther from the truth. This is a question about biology, and absolutely not a question about the Russian language. I even quoted the original Russian term in my question. 
I didn't want to know its meaning: I know what "konservirovat'" means in Russian. I wanted to have several natively-looking options to pick from, in order to be used in my Russian-to-English translation. 
The migrated question was immediately and rightfully put on hold on Russian Language SE:




user9943: The migration to Russian Language may be arguable, but the question does not belong on Biology.SE in my opinion. 
I voted to close the question because it's about methodology and terminology used in chromatography to flush and store the column particle packing material. Although chromatography is a much applied technique in Biochemistry, I think basic questions on the terminology and methods to rinse and store column packing materials is a basic Chemistry question.     
And for what it's worth, the mods did their best to migrate the question. At the time of migration there were already 4 regular votes in. Without a migration the question would've been put on hold at Bio. But yes, in my humble opinion migration to Chemistry.SE would've been more appropriate, but the mods may have had their motivations to not do this.  

user6307: You're not alone in your amazement. To me, the most discouraging aspect of stack exchange is that many people care more about enforcing rules as they perceive them than answering questions. Unfortunately, it only takes 5 like-minded people or 1 moderator to close a question.
This question is about biology, specifically the interpretation of biological methods and the correct way to describe them. You could leave out any mention of the Russian language and translation and the question would be the same.
Also, the comment that this is better suited to Chemistry SE than Biology is incorrect. Chromatography is widely used in biology and the specific procedure described sounds like FPLC.

user27148: I agree with you that the question doesn't belong at all on the Russian SE, but I'm sorry, it doesn't really belong on Biology.SE either.
My expertise isn't in chromatography, but if you are looking for a term that is in common use, why don't you read some papers in English that are doing chromatography? If there is a standard terminology you will find it there; if there is no standard terminology, you are free as a translator to substitute an appropriate phrase. You also got lots of similar helpful input from people on Biology.SE before the question was migrated but you didn't seem to appreciate it much. Mothballed suggests a near-permanent storage (i.e., it is implied that something that is mothballed may not in fact be reused, just set aside such that it could be if required or used for parts, most often in the context of ships or aircraft, but also sometimes used to refer to ideas/plans), so I would not use that term.
Translation in technical disciplines is difficult as evidenced by the quantity of poor translations that exist, so I am sympathetic to what you are trying to do, but I just don't think that's the point of Biology.SE. 

user3340: I noticed this post a bit late; sorry for that.

Let us carefully read your question again:

From a method description in a Russian document:

After the chromatographic analysis is complete, the column is flushed with at least 2-3 volumes of water at a rate of 0.4 ml/min.
    The column is then mothballed (?) by washing it with at least 10-15
    volumes of 20% alcohol at a rate slowly declining from 0.4 ml/min to 0
    ml/min.

The word I translated as "mothballed" is konservirovat (консервировать
  колонку) in Russian. It has the general meaning of "preparing
  something for storage" (for instance, "preparing vegetables for
  storage by pickling").
What would be the suitable term for chromatography?

Please note the text in bold: "From a Russian document" which means that the original document was in Russian and so is a term that is confusing to you.
You have yourself mentioned that "The word I translated as "mothballed" is konservirovat".
Now the entire question, as I see, is about the meaning of konservirovat. 
Your question is in all grounds off-topic because it is not about the principle behind a procedure or a step in a protocol but rather about what is a suitable term to address a step. 
According to my judgment (perhaps I am too foolish to understand), the term that has to be understood is in Russian language. 
Perhaps I am just one user but this means that there is still a possibility that someone does not really understand your question and it is hence unclear.
If you clarify the question and if it really is about chromatographic procedure, then we can have it re-opened.

To everyone who is blaming me (or a few set of users) for being autocratic, please note that this is your community as well. I am forced to use my discretion because there are excessively long review queues. This means that you have not been participating in the review process. 

5009: <p>I've just discovered that my question asking about an English term that an English biotechnitian would use <a href="https://russian.stackexchange.com/q/14003/1884">was migrated to, of all possible SEs, the Russian Language SE</a>. </p>

<p>This is just to register my amazement at this decision. I've very little free time right now. </p>

<p>Let me cite a comment left by WYSIWIG:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>This is not a question about biology or chemistry. It is basically a question about Russian language and the meaning of a Russian term in English. – WYSIWYG 7 </p>
</blockquote>

<p>Nothing can be farther from the truth. This <em>is</em> a question about biology, and absolutely not a question about the Russian language. I even quoted the original Russian term in my question. </p>

<p>I didn't want to know its meaning: I know what "konservirovat'" means in Russian. I wanted to have several natively-looking options to pick from, in order to be used in my Russian-to-English translation. </p>

<p>The migrated question was immediately and rightfully put on hold on Russian Language SE:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1Wx7o.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1Wx7o.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
</blockquote>
 9943: <p>The migration to Russian Language may be arguable, but the question does not belong on Biology.SE in my opinion. </p>

<p>I voted to close the question because it's about methodology and terminology used in chromatography to flush and store the column particle packing material. Although chromatography is a much applied technique in Biochemistry, I think basic questions on the terminology and methods to rinse and store column packing materials is a basic Chemistry question.     </p>

<p>And for what it's worth, the mods did their best to migrate the question. At the time of migration there were already 4 regular votes in. Without a migration the question would've been put on hold at Bio. But yes, in my humble opinion migration to Chemistry.SE would've been more appropriate, but the mods may have had their motivations to not do this.  </p>
 6307: <p>You're not alone in your amazement. To me, the most discouraging aspect of stack exchange is that many people care more about enforcing rules as they perceive them than answering questions. Unfortunately, it only takes 5 like-minded people or 1 moderator to close a question.</p>

<p>This question is about biology, specifically the interpretation of biological methods and the correct way to describe them. You could leave out any mention of the Russian language and translation and the question would be the same.</p>

<p>Also, the comment that this is better suited to Chemistry SE than Biology is incorrect. Chromatography is widely used in biology and the specific procedure described sounds like FPLC.</p>
 27148: <p>I agree with you that the question doesn't belong at all on the Russian SE, but I'm sorry, it doesn't really belong on Biology.SE either.</p>

<p>My expertise isn't in chromatography, but if you are looking for a term that is in common use, why don't you read some papers in English that are doing chromatography? If there is a standard terminology you will find it there; if there is no standard terminology, you are free as a translator to substitute an appropriate phrase. You also got lots of similar helpful input from people on Biology.SE before the question was migrated but you didn't seem to appreciate it much. Mothballed suggests a near-permanent storage (i.e., it is implied that something that is mothballed may not in fact be reused, just set aside such that it could be if required or used for parts, most often in the context of ships or aircraft, but also sometimes used to refer to ideas/plans), so I would not use that term.</p>

<p>Translation in technical disciplines is difficult as evidenced by the quantity of poor translations that exist, so I am sympathetic to what you are trying to do, but I just don't think that's the point of Biology.SE. </p>
 3340: <p>I noticed this post a bit late; sorry for that.</p>

<hr>

<p>Let us carefully read your question again:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>From a method description in a <strong>Russian document</strong>:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>After the chromatographic analysis is complete, the column is flushed with at least 2-3 volumes of water at a rate of 0.4 ml/min.
    The column is then mothballed (?) by washing it with at least 10-15
    volumes of 20% alcohol at a rate slowly declining from 0.4 ml/min to 0
    ml/min.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p><strong>The word I translated as "mothballed" is konservirovat</strong> (консервировать
  колонку) in Russian. It has the general meaning of "preparing
  something for storage" (for instance, "preparing vegetables for
  storage by pickling").</p>
  
  <p>What would be the suitable term for chromatography?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Please note the text in bold: "From a Russian document" which means that the original document was in Russian and so is a term that is confusing to you.</p>

<p>You have yourself mentioned that "<em>The word I translated as "mothballed" is konservirovat</em>".</p>

<p>Now the entire question, as I see, is about the meaning of <em>konservirovat</em>. </p>

<p>Your question is in all grounds off-topic because it is not about the principle behind a procedure or a step in a protocol but rather about what is a suitable term to address a step. </p>

<p>According to my judgment (perhaps I am too foolish to understand), the term that has to be understood is in Russian language. </p>

<p>Perhaps I am just one user but this means that there is still a possibility that someone does not really understand your question and it is hence unclear.</p>

<p>If you clarify the question and if it really is about chromatographic procedure, then we can have it re-opened.</p>

<hr>

<p>To everyone who is blaming me (or a few set of users) for being autocratic, please note that this is your community as well. I am forced to use my discretion because there are excessively long review queues. This means that you have not been participating in the review process. </p>
