Science reform has led to its rapid decline. Threatened the very existence of this sector in the country.
<hr/>Officials are doing everything to Russia has finally turned into a backward state.© CC0 Public Domain
More than a hundred scientists — academicians, corresponding members of RAS and professors signed an open letter to the President Vladimir Putin, in which he opposed the policy of the Federal Agency of scientific organizations (FANO), dealing with property issues of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). Experts say the scientific sphere in the country is under threat of total destruction.
“The Russian fundamental science is experiencing a crisis from the beginning of 1990-ies, and not only because of the dire financial situation. For the past many years, it has been under unprecedented pressure from the state structures having new and new “reform” which has resulted in its gradual degradation,” wrote the researchers.
One of those who signed the appeal after its publication, – the adviser of RAS, doctor of biological Sciences Alexey Yablokov. “Three years of reforms the situation of fundamental science has deteriorated dramatically. The chosen path of reform of science, which actually offers the Ministry of education, is detrimental. We’re talking about a powerful and strong Russia, but without science is strong and powerful countries do not exist. I see only the destruction of science under the banner of reform, with the words “let’s make science more efficient”, etc. as a result, we dramatically roll down. Maybe it isn’t visible from the outside, because it will impact later. But it’s a disaster worse than what is happening in the economy worse than forest fires,” said a biologist.
According to Alexei Yablokov, the current attitude to science does not correspond to the global principles nor the domestic traditions. “There are objective indicators of spending on science in different countries and how science is organized. What was good science in the Soviet Union? It is, of course, fed with money from the defense, but what remained of the atomic bomb for biology, Geochemistry, mathematics, more than enough to be in the forefront in the world. In Soviet times, we published a quarter of scientific papers in the world. Now we published probably five or six hundredths of scientific works. We collapsed on indicators in twenty, thirty, forty, and even fifty times, and this trend continues”, — said the adviser of RAS.
Yablokov said that it is urgent to change the attitude to science in the state. “We must abandon the vertical of management science. Four or five years ago, the Kremlin pushed through the unthinkable for Russian and Soviet science thing when the President of the Academy of Sciences appointed in agreement with the President of the Russian Federation. Russian science lost its independence, and since then everything’s gone. It is necessary to restore the independence of the President of the Academy of Sciences, its institutes, to remove the bureaucratic walls built in the form of FANO, to subordinate FANO Academy of Sciences and make it the economic Department of RAS. Need to dramatically increase funding to enter at least the top twenty countries in terms of Finance, to reach at least to Brazil, Indonesia. I’m not talking to China, USA or Germany, because we are now in the funding of science are semidesyatye countries,” said Alexei Yablokov.
The Chairman of the trade Union of the RAS, candidate of physical and mathematical Sciences, Viktor Kalinushkin said the correspondent of “Rosbalt” that the Union for most items supports academics in signing an open letter to the President of the Russian Federation. “The issue of funding, in our opinion, is in the first place. The situation is rapidly becoming critical. The decrease in funding, even in rubles adjusted for inflation automatically leads to the collapse of institutions and a terrible blow to science,” Kalinushkin said. In his opinion, this situation constitutes a threat to the very existence of the science sector in the country.
According to the Union leader, from the Russian Academy of Sciences require the implementation of the presidential decree about increase of salaries, but the decree of the President about increase of financing of RAS is not implemented. In his opinion, the situation is aggravated by reason of FANO and the emergence of a “two-headed” system of governance.
“Does not exist at all, or very little, you can find examples to “two-headed” system worked effectively. And in a situation when you have not defined the powers of both heads, things get complicated even more,” said Viktor Kalinushkin.
The Russian government just need to change our attitude to science, said a member-correspondent of RAS, doctor of historical Sciences Andrey Golovnev, signed a collective letter scientists. “The science we have traditionally been strong, breakthrough, talented. And lately it has become consumerist, consumer, technology has become a borrowing, mostly overseas, and their application at a reasonable price,” stated Golovnev.
He underlined that the actions of officials from FANO contrary to the country’s course towards independent development. “The problem today is that, with a motion of her head, to look soberly at the state of Affairs and to do away with all sorts of merrymaking, which already for a long time are happening around Academy of Sciences. These games in scientometrics in themselves hazardous, but they pushed back the science itself on the back burner,” said Andrei Golovnev.
According to the scientist, it is necessary to change the relationship between the FANO and wounds. “Historically, this is the profession of scientists is to be the head. Head — the Academy of Sciences, and a staff, from the managers is another problem. Here it is necessary to combine them so that the body worked,” — said Andrei Golovnev.
The attitude of officials to the scientific industry is reminiscent of the well-known parable about an inventor who wanted to milk a cash cow, but feed her less, but better – do not feed at all. To his chagrin, the cow broke the experience and somehow died. And our government officials: they see in science a source of income, but when she does not bring them immediate profit, it ceases to support it, doomed to a slow death.
Dmitry Remizov
